German Nuclear Question

Did West Germany, a NATO member since 1955, seek to emerge as a nuclear-armed power? This “German nuclear question” arose less than two decades after the Second World War, during the final phase of Konrad Adenauer’s tenure as Federal Chancellor. It had grave implications for international security.Building on decades of published research and drawing on unexplored, recently declassified archival evidence – including Adenauer’s formerly top-secret Cabinet Files –, an international and multi-disciplinary team of over 20 specialists from seven countries provides fresh insights into the “German nuclear question” at the height of the Cold War. The perspectives presented in this book help make sense why Germany did not become a nuclear power.