Profits and Cold War - Politically Motivated Export Finance in West Germany during the 1950s: Two Case Studies

The importance of exports in the process of West Germany's reintegration into the international community after the Second World War is well documented. In addition to political rehabilitation and the fundamental need for hard currency, there were also political reasons for the importance the federal government placed upon exports. In order to support American Cold War strategy, it was drawn into a risky credit programme to Yugoslavia, which at one stage was also used to further Adenauer's own agenda. Changes in West German political priorities, resulting partly from the Hallstein Doctrine, forced the government into still more politically motivated export finance and foreign aid. Without losing importance as the engine of German economic growth, export finance and economic aid became increasingly important to the country's foreign policy from the late 1950s onward.