Founded in the aftermath of World War II, West Germany was from its formation a state on the front line of the Cold War. The Federal Republic founded in the UK-, US-, and French-occupied zones in 1949 had initially lacked full sovereignty, but the NATO powers increasingly sought to make it a formal — and rearmed — part of the Western alliance. After abortive moves to bring it into a European Defense Alliance, in 1955 West Germany itself became a NATO member.

West Germany’s rehabilitation sparked opposition from many quarters — not least given the weak purge of Nazi-era officials in the police and judiciary, or even the dubious anti-fascist credentials of many of its political leaders. Yet, even as denazification reached its end, West Germany’s leaders found a means of giving a formal sign of remorse, by way of reparations to Israel. If the Germans’ transactional approach sparked widespread resistance in Israel — and not least among Holocaust survivors — Bonn became an important source of financial and military aid for the new Israeli state.

Daniel Marwecki is author of Germany and Israel: Whitewashing and Statebuilding, a study of the relations between the states created in the aftermath of World War II, up until present day. David Broder spoke to him about Israel’s place in West Germany’s rehabilitation, the importance of Cold War politics in the Middle East, and the difference between support for Israel and consequential action against antisemitism.