Page "East Germany" Paragraph 14

As West Germany was reorganized and gained independence from the occupation, the German Democratic Republic was established in East Germany in 1949.

The creation of the two states made the 1945 division of Germany permanent.

On 10 March 1952, ( in what would become known as the " Stalin Note ") Stalin put forth a proposal to reunify Germany with a policy of neutrality, with no conditions on economic policies and with guarantees for " the rights of man and basic freedoms, including freedom of speech, press, religious persuasion, political conviction, and assembly " and free activity of democratic parties and organizations.

However, leadership of West Germany saw reunification as a rather abstract goal.

Western powers chose to decline on this proposal, due to belief that Germany should be able to join NATO and that such a negotiation with the Soviet Union would be seen as a capitulation.

Afterwards, there had been several debates about whether a real chance for reunification had been missed in 1952.