From war criminal to partner
Germany has been a UN member for 50 years
By Heike Boese, New York
September 19, 2023, 4:15 a.m
Olaf Scholz was 15 years old when the United Nations accepted the two German states as members. The Wall has now fallen and the SPD politician is traveling to New York as Chancellor. And as it spans 50 years of history, even the sun comes out from behind the clouds.
It is a rainy day in New York, September 18, 2023. In the early evening, the Federal Chancellor is standing in the Delegate’s Dining Room on the 4th floor of the UN headquarters on the East River, greeting the guests at a reception that he is holding on behalf of the Federal Republic gives. His wife Britta Ernst, who is no longer dependent on a strict schedule after resigning as Brandenburg’s education minister, accompanied Scholz to New York and is now standing next to him.
The reason for this reception is Germany’s 50-year membership in the United Nations. When on September 18, 1973 – exactly half a century ago to the day – the two German states were admitted to the UN, the German Chancellor was Willy Brandt, the American President was Richard Nixon and FC Bayern Munich was German football champion. The then Secretary General of the United Nations, the Austrian Kurt Waldhein, welcomed a total of three new members: “We have the pleasure of welcoming the Bahamas, the Federal Republic of Germany and the GDR.”
Olaf Scholz was a 15-year-old teenager at the time. But he can still remember well how the admission of both German states moved the German language public. “That was a very special moment in our post-war history and certainly one of the decisive moments that contributed to the development of a framework in Europe in which German unity became possible and was fought for by the citizens of eastern Germany “That’s why it’s important to me to be here today.”
“We count on Germany”
The end of the Second World War launched by Hitler’s Germany was almost 30 years ago, but the suffering, the many dead and displaced persons were far from forgiven and forgotten. As well as? After all the horrors that Germany had caused. Nevertheless, the global community was willing to extend a hand to the Germans by admitting them to the United Nations and to accept them as full members of its circle. The representatives of the Federal Republic and the GDR even sat next to each other in the general assembly. The division of Germany was also such a special circumstance under international law that neither of the two German states could have become members here alone.
The GDR tried it in 1966 to take a step further in its quest for international recognition, but failed due to the veto of the Western powers. The Federal Republic didn’t even try, knowing that the Soviet Union wouldn’t have agreed. This East-West conflict on an open international stage could only be resolved through the simultaneous accession of both German states. However, the placement of diplomats from East and West in the General Assembly also made the division of the world into East and West abundantly visible.
Half a century later, Germany is a big player among the current 193 member states. António Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations, was full of praise for the Germans in the run-up to this anniversary: ”We count on Germany as an important partner in our global efforts to build a fairer and more peaceful future for all of humanity.”
The goal is a permanent seat on the Security Council
And the Germans have great ambitions in the UN: the goal is a permanent seat on the Security Council. The Federal Republic has already sat as a rotating member of this committee four times and is currently applying for a fifth time in 2027/28. The chances of this happening are not bad, even if there are more applicants than the ten available places. However, a permanent seat – alongside the USA, China, Russia, France and Great Britain – is currently still rather unrealistic. Until that happens, Germany needs a long breath. But the Germans have impressively proven over the past five decades that they have it: from outlawed war criminals to respected guarantors of stability.
As the Chancellor speaks, the sky suddenly opens up over the Hudson River and bathes the New York skyline in beautiful evening sunlight. One could almost assume that the federal government had somehow organized this evening sky. In fact, there was simply an area of rain over New York – but for the many guests who are now going out and taking photos of the sunset, there may be a clue in there. In 1973, the year Germany joined the UN, a wall with barbed wire and a shooting range separated the two German states and Berlin, and German unity was seen by many as a utopia. Today a piece of this wall stands on the grounds of the UN headquarters and is a reminder that people can achieve so much if they really want it and, the truth of it, the circumstances are right.