Early Prussian settlements

Speaking of East Prussia, friends who like history may be familiar with it. East Prussia is the birthplace of modern Germany and an inseparable part of German territory. For Germans, all aspects of culture, psychology, economic status and strategic position are of vital significance. In a sense, East Prussia can even be considered as the land of Longxing of the German Empire. However, after World War II, East Prussia was occupied by the Soviet Union, and it has since left the embrace of Germany and has not returned. Although the Germans were full of pain and sadness about the separation of East Prussia, when Germany was unified in 1990, the Germans finally announced that they would give up their territorial claims to East Prussia and legally give up their right to recover East Prussia. Many people can't help wondering that East Prussia is of special significance to Germany. Why did Germany finally give up?

First of all, although Prussia is of great significance to Germany, it is also true for the Soviets. East Prussia has an important strategic position. It is an important fulcrum of the Soviet Union in the Baltic Sea, a frontier against the West and one of the most important seaports of the Soviet Union. Someone once joked that the Soviet Union would rather give up Siberia than East Prussia. This shows the importance of East Prussia. After World War II, East Prussia fell into the hands of the Soviet Union. The Soviets have coveted East Prussia for a long time, and the greedy Soviets never spit out their food, so the Soviets will never give in on the issue of East Prussia. As one of the most powerful countries in the world at that time, even Americans were full of fear of the Soviet Union, so the possibility of Germany coming back was very small.

Secondly, after the Soviet Union occupied East Prussia, it expelled the local residents and renamed East Prussia Kaliningrad. At first, some Germans wanted to return to East Prussia, but they were stopped and expelled by the Soviets. In order to assimilate East Prussia, the Soviet Union not only expelled the local residents, but also frantically immigrated to the local area. Almost all the local people are Soviets, and many traces of Germany and Prussia were erased by the Soviets. East Prussia became Prussia of the Soviet Union. It can be said that East Prussia and Germany have nothing to do except feelings and history. Therefore, for the Germans, the recovery of East Prussia is no longer of great significance, but more of a spiritual comfort.

In addition, the United States, Britain and other western countries do not want Germany to recover East Prussia. Because East Prussia is not only the birthplace of modern Germany, but also the birthplace of German Yong Ke nobility and militarism, which can be said to be the main source of two world wars. If Germany regains East Prussia, German militarism is likely to revive, and Germany is likely to take the old road, at least not as docile as it is now. In addition, Germany's old rivals such as Britain and France and neighboring countries such as Poland and Denmark are afraid of Germany's growth, so they all oppose Germany's recovery of East Prussia. Therefore, when Germany discussed the recovery of East Prussia in 1990, Britain, France, the United States and the Soviet Union both expressed their opposition. France, in particular, fanned the flames everywhere and joined forces with Britain, Poland and other countries to express strong opposition. The German media once commented that what France did seemed to be the resurrection of the Franco-Polish alliance and small allies against Germany in the 1920s.

It is in this environment that Germany chose the former between national reunification and giving up the territorial claim of East Prussia. Because national reunification is the most urgent and important thing for the Germans, the territorial claim of East Prussia is just a bubble. Even if the Germans don't give up, they can't get it back from the Soviets. Therefore, rational and realistic Germans did not hesitate to give up the legal demands of East Prussia. In fact, the Germans not only gave up East Prussia, but also gave up all the land lost in World War II, such as East Boramena. It was this concession that Germany made other countries give up their concerns and won the support of the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain and France. In this way, Germany finally achieved reunification as it wished, laying the foundation for the country's rejuvenation and re-emergence. Today, Germany has become the economic leader of the European Union. With the help of the platform of the European Union, it has continuously enhanced its influence and become the leader of the European Union. It is a kind of helplessness for the Germans to give up East Prussia, but it is also a kind of wisdom.

References:

A general history of Germany, on the diplomatic efforts of the Federal Republic of Germany in the reunification of Germany.