The Federal Republic of Germany and the first Indochina War (1946-1954) Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Philosophie des Fachbereichs Geschichts- und Kulturwissenschaften der Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen Erstgutachter: PD. Dr. Detlef Briesen Zweitgutachter: Prof. Dr. Dirk van Laak vorgelegt von Dao Duc Thuan aus Vietnam November 2012 Table of content CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. Background of the first Indochina War 1 1.2. Germany and France under post-war reconstruction 7 1.3. Purposes of study 10 1.4. Sources 16 1.5. Structure of the research 17 CHAPTER 2 VIETNAM FROM 1945 TO 1954 AND THE IMPACTS 22 OF THE DECOLONIZATION IN INDOCHINA ON FRANCE 2.1. Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 22 2.1.1. Historical background 22 2.1.2. Diplomatic strategy and efforts of Ho Chi Minh 24 2.1.3. France’s return to Indochina and the outbreak of the first 28 Indochina War 2.1.4. From a colonial war to an internationalized war 32 2.1.5. Influence of Dien Bien Phu as a signal of French 37 decolonization in Indochina 2.1.6. The Geneva Conference and its echoes 41 2.2. Impacts of the first Indochina War and decolonization in 44 Indochina on France 2.2.1. Impact on French domestic politics 45 2.2.2. Impact on military status 47 2.2.3. Impact on economics 48 2.2.4. Impact on French colonial and foreign policy 52 CHAPTER 3 GERMANY AND FRANCE AFTER WW II TO THE 55 EARLY 1960s 3.1. Europe from the end of WW II till the early 1960s 56 3.2. Germany after WW II 61 3.2.1. The policies of the Allies towards Germany after 1945 66 3.2.1.1. The U.S. with the “open door” policy 66 i 3.2.1.2. The British policy 68 3.2.1.3. The SU’s policy 70 3.2.1.4. The French policy 71 3.2.2. Germany in the four occupational zones 74 3.2.3. The establishment of the two German states in 1949 80 3.2.4. West Germany in the 1950s 82 3.3. France after WW II 86 3.3.1. Internal issues 86 3.3.2. France’s foreign policy 95 3.3.3. French dilemma in Europe and in Indochina 97 3.3.4. Relations between Germany and France after WW II 105 CHAPTER 4 THE ATTITUDES OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF 111 GERMANY TOWARDS THE FIRST INDOCHINA WAR 4.1. The diplomatic relations between the FRG and Indochina 111 4.2. The attitudes of the FRG towards the first Indochina War 114 4.2.1. West German policy on the first Indochina War 114 4.2.1.1. Background for West Germany’s “Indochinapolitik” 114 4.2.1.2. West German federal government and parliament’s attitudes 118 towards the first Indochina War 4.2.1.3. West German politicians’ attitudes towards the first Indochina 125 War 4.2.2. West German policy on the Germans in the FFL 128 4.3. The attitudes of West German political groups towards 136 the first Indochina War CHAPTER 5 THE WEST GERMAN PUBLIC VIEW TOWARDS THE 144 FIRST INDOCHINA WAR 5.1. West German newspapers and the first Indochina War 145 5.1.1. The attitudes of the world great powers 146 5.1.2. West German government’s attitudes towards the first 151 Indochina War 5.1.3. French dilemma in Indochina 154 ii 5.1.4. The fall of Dien Bien Phu and its impacts 157 5.1.5. West German state and other countries’ attitudes towards 160 EDC and West German rearmament 5.1.6. Germans in the FFL 166 5.2. The first Indochina War in the memoirs of former French 170 legionnaires CHAPTER 6 THE IMPACTS OF DECOLONIZATION IN 178 INDOCHINA AND LESSONS LEARNT FOR THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY 6.1. The impact of decolonization in Indochina on the FRG 179 6.1.1. Impact on political and social life 179 6.1.2. Impact on foreign policy making 182 6.2. The French decolonization in Indochina – lessons learnt 186 for the FRG 6.2.1. German-Franco reconciliation 188 6.2.2. West German integration into Western institutions 193 6.2.2.1. West German economic integration into the ECSC 195 6.2.2.2. West German military integration into NATO 198 6.2.3. West German policy towards Third World countries 204 6.2.3.1. West German development aid to Third World countries 204 6.2.3.2. West German diplomatic policy towards Africa and Vietnam 213 6.2.4. The emergence of the New Left in the FRG 221 CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSION 226 ABBREVIATIONS 242 TABLES AND ILLUSTRATIONS 244 BIBLIOGRAPHY 246 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe deep gratitude to so many people for their help with the preparation of this thesis. First of all, I would like to express my most special thanks to my supervisor, PD. Dr. Detlef Briesen, my esteemed teacher and guide, for his basic ideas on the topic, invaluable guidance, numerous suggestions and many helpful comments on my paper. His constant encouragement gave me the inspiration to complete my paper preparation. His brilliance in editing steadily tightened the great length of this thesis. Also, I should like to thank Prof. Dr. Dirk van Laak at the Faculty of History and Cultural Studies, University of Gießen for his useful comments and corrections on my thesis. My thanks go to all of my colleagues at the Faculty of History and Cultural Studies, University of Gießen for their attention and questione as well as their critical views during my presentation at our seminar. Doing scientific work in both German and Vietnamese archives and libraries can be a challenge for any researcher, especially for young and foreign researchers. I have learnt that without their kind help I would not have been able to accomplish my paper. My first archival work would not be completed without the patient guidance of Herr Ulf Rathje, Herr Cornelius Sommer and Herr Sven Schneidereit at the federal archive in Berlin. Also, Herr Hermann Wiesrecker and Herr Günther Rüb at the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government provided me with a supportive service during my newspaper exploration in Berlin. I wish to thank Herr Ulrich Geyer at the Archive of the Federal Foreign Office, who whole-heartedly guided me to a variety of materials related to my topic when I had a chance to explore that archive. Frau Karin Langer and Frau Antonia Wetzler at the German Radio Archive also deserve my sincere thanks for their kindness and assistance. I would like to express my gratitude to the Vietnamese archivists at the National Archive Center III and many others who have received me and provided me with the excellent assistance. iv I am also indebted to all my colleagues and friends from the Faculty of Archive Studies and Office Management, University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University, Hanoi) who have encouraged me throughout my scientific work. I have been fortunate enough to work with Dr. Nguy ễn Th ị Liên H ươ ng, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Archive Studies and Office Management who openly shared with me lots of her study and living experiences in Germany as well as encouragement at various stages. I also take this oppotunity to thank Mr. Nguy ễn Tr ần Ti ến - PhD scholar, PG Department of History, Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, India, for his timely reading and critical comments on my first draft. From the bottom of my heart, I am indebted to many scholars and researchers whose works are cited in my thesis. Of course, any scientific views and misunderstandings with the German language that occur in the thesis are entirely my own. I would like to take this opportunity to frame my words to the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam (MoET) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for awarding me handsome scholarships during my period of study in Germany. Last but not least, I am indebted to my family and my friends who have supported me in many ways during the completion of this thesis. Without a doubt, I simply could not have completed my work without their encouragements. v CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1. Background of the first Indochina War The August Revolution (Vietnamese: Cách m ạng Tháng Tám ) is regarded as the greatest revolution in contemporary Vietnamese history. The proclamation of the independence of Vietnam by Ho Chi Minh on 2 September 1945 marked the beginning of the end of colonial rule, under which the French had simultaneously supported the survival of the ruling classes of the old Vietnamese monarchy. However, France did not recognize the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) and the Vietnamese sovereignty that President Ho Chi Minh and his Vietminh supporters had declared. 1 As a result, fighting soon broke out between the Vietminh and the French troops. For France, of course, the position in Indochina 2 was essential to regain and occupy the status of a great power as France’s prestige was seriously tested during World War II (WW II) and lost by the collaboration of the Vichy government with Nazi Germany from 1940 to 1944. In the first part of WW II, Germany and Japan achieved successes. Consequently, France lost control over its colonial territories; in some cases, opposing French military forces, i.e., Vichy France3 and Free France,4 even fought over the control of them. After the liberation of Paris and France as a whole in 1944, the socio-economic condition was relatively unstable and weak.