More than a geriatric romance: Adenauer, de gaulle, and the atlantic alliance

Abstract

The relationship between Konrad Adenauer and Charles de Gaulle was crucial for postwar Europe. Although Franco-German reconciliation enjoyed its first successes before de Gaulle’s return to power in 1958 and endured periods of relative coolness over succeeding decades, the regular consultations Adenauer and de Gaulle codified in the Elysée Treaty of 1963, built on five years of regular tête-á-têtes, and provided a framework for intergovernmental cooperation irrespective of the political makeup of subsequent French and German governments.