Die neue Militarisierung von Olaf Scholz: Deutschlands lautloser Weg zur Zeitenwende | Berliner Zeitung |

After 1945, Germany and France finally buried their imperial ambitions and came to terms with their dreams of becoming a great power. They first came to the realization that dominance over Europe can only be achieved through unity between the two of them. An agreement between Berlin Bonn and Paris on Europe was the only way to regain the importance they had in world politics, which they had lost in relation to the USA, China and also the USSR, as they had in the 18th and 19th centuries. European integration is the incarnation of these intentions. After total destruction in 1945, [West-]Germany made every step right up until reunification in 1989 to expand its influence on the mainland via Europeanization.

Division of Europe -- the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences

'Sapere aude'