After September 11, 2001, then Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer (Greens) published a book entitled “The Return of History”.
Today, after February 24, one could speak with more justification of a return of history.
Territorial and power claims are historically justified by Vladimir Putin in a way that seemed unimaginable in Europe for a long time.
This upheaval has a special meaning for Germany: With the Russian attack on the Ukraine, Germany lost a bet, so to speak, that could only be justified if history was ignored.
For decades, the political rationale of German-Russian relations consisted of making oneself fully dependent on Russia without needing to.
Behind this was the expectation that this would result in mutual dependence: foreign exchange for gas.
Would Russia give up the enormous advantages of economic integration for a military adventure?
Would it ever just write off the immense investment in gas pipelines?
This seemed so unlikely to policymakers in Berlin that they upped the bet and weakened Germany's defense capability for many years.