From Ostpolitik to the russian invasion of Ukraine

“From Ostpolitik to the Russian invasion of Ukraine” – was the title of the highly topical discussion organised by the Point Alpha Foundation on Thursday, 1 June, in the Gangolfi Hall of Geisa Castle. A high-calibre panel focused on the historical dimension of the “turning point”, but also on the causes, background and consequences. The public was welcome to attend free of charge.

What went wrong? What conclusions can Germany draw from this for the organisation of its relations? These are just two of the many questions that were burning under people’s nails. The CDU member of the Bundestag and Point Alpha Foundation Board member, Michael Brand, was joined by Prof Dr Hope Harrison from Georg Washington University and Prof Dr Claudia Wiesner from Fulda University of Applied Sciences as well as Dr Matthias Uhl from the German Historical Institute in Moscow. Together, they discussed the aforementioned questions as well as possible solutions.

The discussion was moderated by Prof Dr Philipp Gassert (University of Mannheim and Chairman of the Point Alpha Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board) and Philipp Metzler (Director of Studies at the Point Alpha Foundation).

The event was part of the academic conference “The German-German Basic Treaty 1972/73: International Context, Consequences, Remembrance”. The Point Alpha Research Institute (PARI) and the Berliner Kolleg Kalter Krieg (BKKK) are partners of the conference.