Readers may ask why the topic of reconciliation is not accorded greater attention within international relations. Feldman examines German postwar foreign policy and correctly identifies reconciliation as its guiding principle. Examining Germany's evolving postwar relations with Israel, France, Poland, and the Czech Republic, the author brings a distinctly historical perspective to a question that she nevertheless couches in political terms, namely, what factors have been key to Germany's approach. The book weaves together four factors—how history is leveraged, the role of national leaders, the centrality of government and non-government institutions, and finally the overall international context—and presents an in-depth analysis based upon a wealth of secondary sources. Eschewing the generation of a rigorous causal model, the book still succeeds in distilling which elements were necessary for reconciliation to occur. The highly contextualized findings render the book particularly valuable from a historical perspective, yet Feldman also cleverly seeks to extend its insights to comparable unresolved situations in East Asia; indeed, the book could also offer important lessons for internal conflicts involving ethnic violence and civil war. Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels.

Choice Reviews

Even if it is difficult to transfer the different cultural, social, and political conditions of Europe to the Pacific, the author gives advice to learn from the German example because—consciously or unconsciously—reconciliation policy also serves the power of a to stabilize the state on the international arena and to increase—which in turn makes an active policy of reconciliation attractive for all States.

Perspectivia.net

In this magisterial volume, Lily Gardner Feldman traces the development of German reconciliation policy in relation to France, Israel, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. . . . [The author] casts her net very wide in her explanation and draws some important comparative explanations. She rightly assigns central importance to the role of history, leadership, non-governmental institutions and governmental institutions, although these factors play out very differently in different contexts. One of the great strengths of this impressive study is the way in which the four-cases approach allows the author to track subtle changes over the decades.

International Affairs

A comprehensive account detailing the formulation and development of a central tenet of the Federal Republic of Germany's foreign policy. . . . It will be an essential reference for all students of postwar and postunification Germany, international relations, foreign policy, and conflict resolution.

German Politics & Society

In this well-researched and fascinating book . . . Lily Gardner Feldman argues that political reconciliation represented 'the cornerstone, perhaps the very definition of German foreign policy after World War II.' [It] is inspired by several bodies of literature, and bridges the gap between the literature focusing on the foreign relations of the Federal Republic and the theological, philosophical, legal, social-psychological, and political and historical approaches to the study of reconciliation. . . . Feldman’s discussion of the foreign policy of the Federal Republic between 1949 and 2009 is clear and persuasive, and the overall message of the book optimistic and inspiring. Feldman stresses the pivotal role of political leadership—highlighting the role played by 'friendship relations'—and of a 'shared vision' between the leaders of the two countries, often in the face of skeptical, if not openly hostile, public opinion. And while acknowledging the reticence often displayed by a large part of the German public, Feldman also stresses the significance of the role played by societal actors in promoting international reconciliation—an innovative and very interesting aspect of the author's study of German foreign policy. . . . An interesting and highly informative work, which raises important questions about the course of German foreign relations in the post-World War II era.

German History

In her well-informed and wide-ranging study Lily Gardner Feldman explores [the] correlation of the pragmatic and moral driving forces of the German foreign policy of reconciliation from 1949 to 2009. . . .Feldman's study offers a new framework for a consistent interpretation of the history of German foreign policy.

European History Quarterly