The Ulbricht Doctrine, named after East German leader Walter Ulbricht, was the assertion that normal diplomatic relations between East Germany and West Germany could only occur if both states fully recognised each other's sovereignty. This contrasted with the Hallstein Doctrine, a West German policy which insisted that West Germany was the only legitimate German state. East Germany gained acceptance of its view from fellow Communist states such as Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, and Bulgaria, which all agreed not to normalise relations with West Germany until it recognised East German sovereignty.
West Germany eventually abandoned its Hallstein Doctrine, instead adopting the policies of Ostpolitik. In December 1972, a Basic Treaty between East and West Germany was signed, reaffirming two German states as separate entities. The treaty also allowed the exchange of diplomatic missions, and the entry of both German states to the United Nations as full members.
Famous quotes containing the word doctrine:
“What ails it, intrinsically, is a dearth of intellectual audacity and of aesthetic passion. Running through it, and characterizing the work of almost every man and woman producing it, there is an unescapable suggestion of the old Puritan suspicion of the fine arts as such—of the doctrine that they offer fit asylum for good citizens only when some ulterior and superior purpose is carried into them.”
—H.L. (Henry Lewis)