Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: German Narratives of Europapolitik

1945 is often referred to as ‘Stunde Null’ (zero hour) in Germany. It was clear after the shaming and destructive Nazi experience that historical narratives were redundant, and a new narrative had to be found (Legro 2005). This was in marked contrast to other states such as the United Kingdom who evolved, rather than fundamentally rewrote, their national narrative. Germany’s post-1949 narrative on European policy was forged as a rejection of Germany’s recent historical experience and was designed to fit the circumstances of what was initially a divided Germany. As such, it has shown great, though not total consistency. Successive (west) German governments crafted a narrative of German membership of the European Union (EU), underpinned by a conducive political and economic context which witnessed German economic recovery and the achievement of German unity in 1990.