Abstract:
Until the early seventies the German Democratic Republic (GDR), in line with the CSSR and Bulgaria, was least disposed among CMEA countries to engage in cooperation activities with the West. One of the major reasons for the reserve shown by the GDR in this respect was probably that linkage through cooperation agreements of the GDR-owned production and distribution potential to Western partners was deemed to involve too great a political and economic risk. Since the political recognition in 1972 and 1973 however a reversal of views could be observed which is justified by GDR circles with a series of new trends in the world economy and in world politics.
