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In October 1957, 
Willy Brandt was 
elected mayor of 
West Berlin. One 
of his key aims 
was to strengthen 
the links between 
the city of Berlin, 
- isolated like an 
island inside the 
Eastern bloc -
and the rest of
West Germany
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Erhard was the chief architect of the post-war German economic miracle. Under
his stewardship West Germany became an economic super-power. Brandt made it
his mission to raise West Germany's political status to the same rank 
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Brandt fled to 
Norway after 
Hitler came to 
power. He became
a Norwegian 
citizen, married 
Rut, a Norwegian, 
and then joined 
Norway's anti-Nazi 
resistance fighters.
Though he later 
resumed German 
citizenship, many 
nationalists never 
forgave him for 
fighting against 
his native country
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In an effort to stop
the growing flood
of refugees to the
west, East Germany
sealed the border
between east and
west Berlin in1961.
Brandt wanted
resolute support
from the west, and 
appealed angrily 
to President 
Kennedy: "Berlin 
expects more 
than words; 
Berlin expects 
political action"
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East Germans
rushed to cross
over to the west
before it was
too late. In the 
six weeks it took 
to build the 
Berlin Wall across 
Potsdamer Platz, 
more than 45,000 
people crossed 
into west Berlin 
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The city of Berlin 
was to be divided 
for 28 years. 
Willy Brandt
never believed he 
would live to see 
his city reunited, 
and he was as 
surprised as 
anybody when 
the Wall did
came down
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When the Wall 
went up, Germans 
old and young 
felt the two 
Germanies were 
bound to take 
separate paths. 
Brandt's Ostpolitik 
attempted to slow 
this process, to 
maintain the 
dialogue between 
East and West, 
and so keep alive
the hope of a 
united Germany 
and a united Europe
#
Adenauer, the first chancellor of West Germany, believed in a foreign policy based
on partnership with other Western European nations. He refused to acknowledge
East Germany or to deal with the Soviet bloc, and he was a bitter critic of
Willy Brandt's policy of Ostpolitik
#
After becoming 
Chancellor in 
1969, Brandt's 
first priority was 
to normalise 
relations with 
East Germany. His 
summit with the 
East German 
prime minister
in 1970 was the 
first ever such
meeting between
the leaders of
the two countries
#
The German-
Polish treaty 
guaranteed the 
Oder-Neisse line 
as the western 
border of Poland 
and was the first 
step in Willy
Brandt's mission to
improve diplomatic
relations with
Eastern Europe 
#
In 1970 Brandt 
signed a treaty 
with the Soviet 
leader Leonid
Brezhnev whereby
both sides agreed
not to use force in 
matters affecting 
international 
security. The 
treaty was a great
symbolic success, 
and marked a 
turning point in 
West Germany's 
international 
position
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Brandt lived to 
see the Berlin 
Wall pulled down 
in 1989, and 
returned briefly 
to the limelight. 
In that year of 
peaceful revolu-
tions and German
re-unification,
there seemed to
be something 
prophetic about 
his long and 
honorable career
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