M. E. Sarotte Knihy

Thirty years after the Soviet Union's collapse, this book reveals how tensions between America, NATO, and Russia transformed geopolitics between the Cold War and COVID

"In The Collapse historian Mary Elise Sarette shows that the opening of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, was not, as is commonly believed, the East German government's deliberate concession to outside influence. It was an accident. A carelessly worded memo written by mid-level bureaucrats, a bumbling press conference given by an inept member of the East German Politburo, the negligence of government leaders, the bravery of ordinary people in East and West Berlin--these combined to bring about the end of nearly forty years of oppression, fear, and enmity in divided Berlin. Drawing on evidence from archives in multiple countries and languages, along with dozens of interviews with key actors, The Collapse is the definitive account of the event that brought down the East German Politburo and came to represent the final collapse of the Cold War order"--

Drawing on official military-reform plans, as well as over 60 interviews in six countries, this Adelphi Paper describes the context of German military reform, and its impact on German decision-making. It gives detail of the reform and explores its potential consequences, with particular reference to the implications for European military capabilities and relations with NATO.

1989 explores the momentous events following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the effects they have had on our world ever since. Based on documents, interviews, and television broadcasts from Washington, London, Paris, Bonn, Berlin, Warsaw, Moscow, and a dozen other locations, 1989 describes how Germany unified, NATO expansion began, and Russia got left on the periphery of the new Europe. This updated edition contains a new afterword with the most recent evidence on the 1990 origins of NATO's post-Cold War expansion.

The book delves into Cold War Germany's detente era, utilizing newly uncovered archival materials, including secret documents from the East German secret police and Communist Party. It examines the motivations of the German Democratic Republic and its Soviet allies in their reactions to West Germany's Ostpolitik and U.S. foreign policy under Nixon. By revealing these behind-the-scenes dynamics, the author provides a nuanced understanding of the complex negotiations and strategies that characterized this pivotal period in history.