In the
1969 elections, again with Brandt as the leading candidate, the SPD became stronger. After three weeks of negotiations, the SPD and the smaller
Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP)
formed a coalition government. Their
Members of the Bundestag elected Brandt
Chancellor of Germany.
Foreign policy in
Cologne, 3 July 1972 and
Henry Kissinger, 2 May 1973 in
Cairo, 21 April 1974 As chancellor, Brandt developed his
(Neue) Ostpolitik ("new eastern policy") by stages. He was active in creating a degree of rapprochement with
East Germany (governed by a regime under
Erich Honecker), and also in improving relations with the
Soviet Union, Poland (
Polish People's Republic),
Czechoslovakia, and other
Eastern Bloc (communist) countries. Brandt introduced his Ostpolitik gradually, starting in 1967 with the establishment of diplomatic relations with
Romania and making a trade agreement with Czechoslovakia. In 1968, he restored diplomatic relations with
Yugoslavia. However, in August 1968, the Kremlin-controlled
invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops ended the
Prague Spring. It was a profound disappointment for Brandt. He condemned the invasion and put Ostpolitik on hold while he negotiated a coalition with the Free Democrats. In late 1969, he indicated his readiness to meet with East German leadership (then under
Walter Ulbricht) on the basis of equality, without preconditions. He also expressed an eagerness to meet with the USSR and Poland to resolve frontier questions that had remained unsettled since 1945. Brandt and the East German premier
Willi Stoph met in
Erfurt on 19 March 1970 () and in
Kassel on 21 May 1970 (). Brandt made a six-point proposal that would involve two separate German states that respected each other's territorial integrity and settle disputes peacefully. They would cooperate as neighbours and the rights of the Four Powers in Berlin would be respected by both of them, and finally, the situation around Berlin would be improved. No agreements were reached at first, but talks continued. On 12 August 1970, he signed a treaty with the Soviet Union (
Treaty of Moscow, which recognised existing national boundaries and was supposed to normalise relations.) The treaty with Poland in December 1970 (
Treaty of Warsaw) accepted the current boundaries (
Oder–Neisse line), which had long been in dispute. During a visit to a monument to the
German occupation-era Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, he unexpectedly, and apparently spontaneously, knelt (
Kniefall von Warschau), honouring the victims. This was met with a strong positive reaction worldwide but was highly controversial among the German public at the time. The Berlin question () was settled on 3 September 1971 (
Four Power Agreement on Berlin) to West Germany's satisfaction. The crowning step came with the Basic Treaty with East Germany (
Basic Treaty, signed 21 December 1972). The
status quo was legitimised, relations were formalised based on equality, and both Germanies joined the United Nations in 1973. Brandt became the first German chancellor to address the United Nations General Assembly.
Time magazine in the U.S. named Brandt as its
Man of the Year for 1970, stating, "Willy Brandt is in effect seeking to end World War II by bringing about a fresh relationship between East and West. He is trying to accept the real situation in Europe, which has lasted for 25 years, but he is also trying to bring about a new reality in his bold approach to the Soviet Union and the East Bloc." President
Richard Nixon also was pushing
détente on behalf of the United States. The
Nixon policies amounted to co-opting Brandt's Ostpolitik. In 1971, Brandt received the
Nobel Peace Prize for his work in improving
International relations with East Germany, Poland, and the Soviet Union. Brandt negotiated a peace treaty with Poland and agreements on the boundaries between the two countries, signifying the official and long-delayed end of
World War II. Brandt negotiated parallel treaties and agreements with Czechoslovakia. In West Germany, Brandt's
Neue Ostpolitik was extremely controversial, dividing the populace into two camps. One camp embraced all of the conservative parties, and most notably those West German residents and their families who had been driven west ("die
Heimatvertriebenen") by Stalinist
ethnic cleansing from
Historical Eastern Germany, especially the part that was given to Poland as a consequence of the end of the war; western
Czechoslovakia (the
Sudetenland); and the rest of Eastern Europe, such as in
Romania. These groups of displaced Germans and their descendants loudly voiced their opposition to Brandt's policy, calling it "illegal" and "high treason". A different camp supported and encouraged Brandt's
Neue Ostpolitik as aiming at "change through
rapprochement" (
Wandel durch Annäherung), encouraging change through a policy of engagement with the (communist)
Eastern Bloc, rather than trying to isolate these countries diplomatically and commercially. Brandt's supporters claim that the policy did help to break down the Eastern Bloc's "
siege mentality" and also helped to increase its awareness of the contradictions in its brand of socialism/communism, which – together with other events – eventually led to the downfall of Eastern European communism.
Domestic policies Brandt's popularity meeting in
Dortmund, 1983 Brandt's predecessor as chancellor,
Kurt Georg Kiesinger (1904–1988), was almost ten years older than Brandt. He had gained his certificate as a lawyer in March 1933 and become a (largely inactive) member of the
Nazi party, obviously to avoid professional disadvantages. He was an older-fashioned conservative-liberal intellectual. Brandt, having fought the
Nazi regime and having faced down communist Eastern Germany during several crises while he was the
mayor of Berlin, became a controversial, but credible, figure in several different factions. As the
Minister of Foreign Affairs in
Kiesinger's grand coalition cabinet, Brandt helped to gain further international approval for West Germany, and he laid the foundation stones for his future
Neue Ostpolitik. There was a wide public-opinion gap between Kiesinger and Brandt in the West German polls. Both men had come to their own terms with the new
baby boomer lifestyles (see also
Protests of 1968). Kiesinger considered them to be "a shameful crowd of long-haired drop-outs who needed a bath and someone to discipline them". On the other hand, Brandt needed a while to get into contact with, and to earn credibility among, the "
Ausserparlamentarische Opposition" (APO) ("the extra-parliamentary opposition"). The students questioned West German society in general, seeking social, legal, and political
reforms. The unrest led to a renaissance of right-wing parties in some of the
Bundeslands' (German states under the Bundesrepublik) Parliaments. Brandt, however, represented a figure of change, and he followed a course of social, legal, and political reforms. The
West German federal election on 28 September 1969 brought the SPD 224 seats and FDP 30 seats. 249 seats were needed for a majority. SPD and FDP formed a coalition. In his first speech before the Bundestag as the chancellor, Brandt set forth his political course of reforms, ending the speech with his famous words, "Wir wollen mehr Demokratie wagen" (literally: "We want to dare more democracy", or more figuratively, "We want to take a chance on more Democracy"). This speech made Brandt, as well as the Social Democratic Party, popular among most of the students and other young West German baby-boomers who dreamed of a country that would be more open and more colourful than the frugal and still somewhat-authoritarian Bundesrepublik that had been built after World War II. However, Brandt's
Neue Ostpolitik lost him a large part of the German refugee voters from East Germany, who had been significantly pro-SPD in the postwar years.
Chancellor of domestic reform Although Brandt is perhaps best known for his achievements in foreign policy, his government oversaw the implementation of a broad range of social reforms, and was known as a "Kanzler der inneren Reformen" ("Chancellor of domestic reform"). According to the historian
David Childs, "Brandt was anxious that his government should be a reforming administration and a number of reforms were embarked upon". Within a few years, the education budget rose from 16 billion to 50 billion DM, while one out of every three DM spent by the new government was devoted to welfare purposes. As noted by the journalist and historian
Marion Dönhoff, "People were seized by a completely new feeling about life". A mania for large-scale reforms spread like wildfire, affecting schools, universities, the administration, and family legislation. In the autumn of 1970,
Hans-Jürgen Wischnewski of the SPD declared "Every week more than three plans for reform come up for decision in cabinet and in the Assembly". Federal spending rose significantly under Brandt; increasing by an average of 12% per year between 1970 and 1974, with most of the additional spending allocated to transport, education and welfare. During Brandt's time in office, social expenditure rose from one quarter to a third of GDP. According to
Helmut Schmidt, Willy Brandt's domestic reform programme had accomplished more than any previous programme for a comparable period. Levels of social expenditure were increased, with more funds allocated towards housing, transportation, schools, and communication, Various measures were introduced to extend health care coverage, while federal aid to sports organisations was increased. whilst the welfare state was significantly expanded (with total public spending on social programs nearly doubling between 1969 and 1975), with health, housing, and social welfare legislation bringing about welcome improvements, unemployment benefits, housing allowances, basic subsistence aid allowances, and family allowances and living allowances. In the government's first budget, sickness benefits were increased by 9.3%, pensions for war widows by 25%, pensions for the war wounded by 16%, and retirement pensions by 5%. Numerically, pensions went up by 6.4% (1970), 5.5% (1971), 9.5% (1972), 11.4% (1973), and 11.2% (1974). Adjusted for changes in the annual price index, pensions went up in real terms by 3.1% (1970), 0.3% (1971), 3.9% (1972), 4.4% (1973), and 4.2% (1974). Between 1972 and 1974, the purchasing power of pensioners went up by 19%. In 1970, war pensions were increased by 16%. War victim's pensions went up by 5.5% in January 1971, and by 6.3% in January 1972. By 1972, war pensions for orphans and parents had gone up by around 40%, and for widows by around 50%. Between 1970 and 1972, the "Landabgaberente" (land transfer pension) went up by 55%. Between 1969 and 1974, the average real standard rate of income support rose (in 1991 prices) from around 300 DM to around 400 DM. Between 1970 and 1974, unemployment benefits rose from around 300 euros to around 400 euros per month, and unemployment assistance from just under 200 euros per month to just under 400 euros per month. In 2001 prices, the average standard social assistance benefit level rose from around 200 euros per month in 1969 to over 250 euros per month in 1974. During most of Brandt's years as chancellor, the majority of benefits increased as a percentage of average net earnings. In 1970, seagoing pilots became retrospectively insurable and gained full social security as members of the Non-Manual Workers Insurance Institute. That same year, a special regulation came into force for District Master Chimney Sweeps, making them fully insurable under the Craftsman's Insurance Scheme. and social assistance was extended to those who previously had to be helped by their relatives.
Social assistance The Third Modification Law (1974) extended individual entitlements to
social assistance by means of higher-income limits compatible with the receipt of benefits and lowered age limits for certain special benefits. Rehabilitation measures were also extended, child supplements were expressed as percentages of standard amounts and were thus indexed to their changes, and the grandparents of recipients were exempted from potential liability to reimburse the expenditure of the social assistance carrier. Improvements and automatic adjustments of maintenance allowances for participants in vocational training measures were also carried out, There was determined, by statutory regulation issued in February 1970, the category of persons most seriously disabled "to whom, with regard to maintenance aid, an increased demand (50% of the appropriate rate) is being conceded, and, within the scope of relief in special living conditions: a higher rate of nursing aid". In 1971, the retirement age for miners was lowered to 50. An April 1972 law providing for "promotion of social aid services" aimed to remedy, through various beneficial measures (particularly in the field of national insurance and working conditions), the staff-shortage suffered by social establishments in their medico-social, educational and other work. A bill to harmonise re-education benefits and another bill relating to severely disabled persons became law in May and September 1972 respectively. To assist family planning and marriage and family guidance, the government allocated DM 2,232,000 in 1973 for the payment and for the basic and further training of staff. A special effort was also made in 1973 to organise the recreation of
disabled persons, with a holiday guide for the disabled issued with the aid of the Federal Ministry of Family and Youth Affairs and Health in order to help them find suitable holiday accommodation for themselves and their families. From 1972 to 1973, the total amount of individual aids granted by the Guarantee Fund for the integration of young immigrants increased from 17 million DM to 26 million DM. Under a law passed in April 1974, the protection hitherto granted to the victims of war or industrial accidents for the purpose of their occupational and social reintegration was extended to all disabled persons, whatever the cause of their disability, provided that their capacity to work had been reduced by at least 50%.
Health care In the field of health care, various measures were introduced to improve the quality and availability of health care provision. Free hospital care was introduced for 9 million recipients of social relief, In January 1971, the reduction of sickness allowance in case of hospitalisation was discontinued. That same year, compulsory health insurance was extended to the self-employed. In 1970, the government included nonmedical psychotherapists and psychoanalysts in the national health insurance program. Pupils, students and children in kindergartens were incorporated into the accident insurance scheme, while the Farmers' Sickness Insurance Law (1972) introduced compulsory sickness insurance for independent farmers, family workers in agriculture, and pensioners under the farmers' pension scheme, medical benefits for all covered groups, and cash benefits for family workers under compulsory coverage for pension insurance. and institutionalized the norm that the standard pension (of average earners with forty years of contributions) should not fall below 50% of current gross earnings. The legislation also changed the way in which pensions were calculated for low-income earners who had been covered for twenty-five or more years. If the pension benefit fell below a specified level, then such workers were allowed to substitute a wage figure of 75% of the average wage during this period, thus creating something like a minimum wage benefit. According to one study, the 1972 pension reform "enhanced" the reduction of poverty in old age. Voluntary retirement at 63 with no deductions in the level of benefits was introduced, together with the index-linking of war victims' pensions to wage increases. Improvements in pension provision were made for women and the self-employed, a new minimum pension for workers with at least twenty-five years' insurance was introduced, along with occupational injury annuities and a special pension for long-standing insurant from the age of 63 and a pension due to "limited earning capacity" from the age of 62. In addition, a special pension benefit was introduced for workers aged 60 and above after unemployment. Under the Severely Handicapped Persons Act of April 1974, a seriously disabled person could retire early on an old age pension at the age of 62 years, provided that he "complied with the other provisions of the legislation on pension insurance". and spending on research and education was increased by nearly 300% between 1970 and 1974. Fees for higher or further education were abolished, A law on individual promotion of vocational training came into force in October 1971, which provided for financial grants for attendance at further general or technical teaching establishments from the second year of studies at higher technical schools, academies and higher education establishments, training centres of second degree, or certain courses of television teaching. Grants were also made in certain cases for attendance at training centres located outside the Federal Republic. Increases were also made in educational allowances, and that same year education of clinical and biomedical engineers was introduced. The Brandt Administration also introduced enabling legislation for the introduction of comprehensives, but left it to the Lander "to introduce them at their discretion". While the more left-wing Lander "rapidly began to do so", other Lander found "all sorts of pretexts for delaying the scheme". By the mid-1980s, Berlin had 25 comprehensives while Bavaria only had 1, and in most Länder comprehensives were still viewed as "merely experimental".
Housing and urban development In the field of housing, various measures were carried out to benefit householders, such as improving the rights of tenants and increasing rental assistance. According to the Rent Subsidies Act (Wohngeldgesetz) of 1970, "low-income tenants and owners of accommodations are supported with rents and burdens subsidies". The determination of the income of families taken into consideration for housing allowances was simplified, and increased levels of protection and support for low-income tenants and householders were introduced, Increases were made in public housing subsidies, as characterised by a 36% increase in the social housing budget in 1970 From 1970 to 1971, an 18.1% increase in building permits for social housing units was made. Other reforms aimed at improving tenants' rights included protection against conversion of rental housing into condominiums, the prohibition of the misappropriation of living space, new regulation of the apartment broker system, and a fee scale for engineers and architects. In addition, the income limits for eligibility for social housing were raised and adapted in order to reflect general income trends. together with the provision of "for family-friendly housing" freight or rent subsidies to owners of apartments or houses whose ceiling had been adapted to increased expenses or incomes (1970). In addition, a law for the creation of property for workers was passed, under which a married worker would normally keep up to 95% of his pay, and graded tax remission for married wage-earners applied up to a wage of 48,000 marks, which indicated the economic prosperity of West Germany at that time. In addition, the Guidelines of December 1972 on the usage of federal funds in assisting social housing construction laid down that a certain standard needed to be observed when building homes for severely disabled persons. The Second Housing Allowance Law of December 1970 simplified the administration of housing allowances and extended entitlements, increased the income limit to 9,600 DM per year plus 2,400 DM for each family member, raised the general deduction on income to determine reckonable income from 15% to 20%, allowance rates listed in tables replacing complicated calculation procedure based on "bearable rent burdens". The "German Council for town development", which was set up by virtue of Article 89 of a law to foster urban building, was partly aimed at planning a favourable environment for families (such as the provision of playgrounds). In 1971, the Federal Labour Office made available DM 425 million in the form of loans to provide 157,293 beds in 2,494 hostels. A year later, the Federal Government (Bund), the Länder and the Federal Labour Office promoted the construction of dwellings for migrant workers. They set aside 10 million DM for this purpose, which allowed the financing of 1650 family dwellings that year. the age of eligibility for political office was lowered to 21, In 1971, corporal punishment was banned in schools, and that same year a new Highway Code was introduced. In 1973, a measure was introduced that facilitated the adoption of young children by reducing the minimum age for adoptive parents from 35 to 25. while amnesty was guaranteed for minor offences connected with demonstrations. In October 1972, the legal aid system was improved with the compensation paid to private lawyers for legal services to the poor increased. The Bausparkassen Act of 1972 placed all bausparkassen (
building societies) under the supervision of the Federal Banking Supervisory Office from January 1974 onwards, and confined them "to the contract saving business and related activities". The Animal Protection Act, passed in 1972, introduced various safeguards for animals such as not permitting the causing of pain, injury, or suffering to an animal without justification, and limiting experiments to the minimum number of animals necessary. In 1971, rules were introduced making it possible for former guestworkers "to receive an unlimited residence permit after a five-year stay".
Military A number of reforms were also carried out to the armed forces, a personnel reshuffle of top management in the Bundeswehr was carried out, academic education was mandated for officers beyond their basic military training, and a new recruiting policy for Bundeswehr personnel was introduced with the intention of building an army that reflected West Germany's pluralistic society. Defence Minister
Helmut Schmidt led the development of the first Joint Service Regulation ZDv 10/1 (Assistance for Innere Fuehrung, classified: restricted), which revitalised the concept of Innere Fuehrung while also affirming the value of the "citizen in uniform". According to one study, as a result of this reform, "a strong civil mindset displaced the formerly dominant military mindset", and forced the Bundeswehr's elder generation to accept a new type of soldier envisioned by Schmidt. In addition, the Federal Cost of Moving Act increased the relocation allowance (with effect from 1 November 1973), with the basic allowances raised by DM 50 and DM 100 respectively, while extra allowances for families were raised to a uniform amount of 125 DM. and new pay regulations were introduced that improved the financial situation of military personnel and civil servants. a reform which, according to one historian, "fought against the closed nature of the military and guaranteed that officers would be better able to successfully interact with the civilian world". From April 1973, the general maintenance payments under the Law amending the Maintenance Security Act and the Workplace Protection Act were increased, while increases were also made in the special allowance (Christmas bonus) for conscripts, together with the dismissal allowance. The expense allowance for troops on duty-related absence from place of employment was improved, together with travel subsidies and provisions for military service-damaged soldiers and their families. In addition, the position of non-commissioned officers was improved.
Consumers' and workers' rights -
Eving, 1974 Legislation aimed at safeguarding consumers was also implemented under the Brandt Administration. The consumer's right of withdrawal in case of hire purchase was strengthened in March 1974, In addition, a progressive anticartel law was passed. In addition, the budget for communications was increased. while maternity leave was increased. Legislation was introduced in 1970, which ensured continued payment of wages for workers disabled by illness. A law on the hiring out of manpower, passed in October 1972, contained provisions to stipulate prior authorization for the hiring out of manpower, to draw a distinction between the system governing workers hired out and the placing of workers, to regulate and improve the rights of hired out workers pertaining to working conditions and social insurance, and provide for more severe penalties and fines to be imposed on offenders. accident insurance was extended to non-working adults, The Occupational Safety Act (1973) required employers to provide company doctors and safety experts. A directive on protection against noise at the place of work was adopted in November 1970. If measurements showed or there was reason to assume that a noise level guide value of 90 dB(A) may be exceeded at the place of work, then the authority had to instruct the employer to arrange check-ups of the employees concerned, and these employees had to use personal noise protection devices. In 1972, the rights of works councils to information from management were not only strengthened, but works councils were also provided with full codetermination rights on issues such as working time arrangements in the plant, the setting of piece rates, plant wage systems, the establishment of vacation times, work breaks, overtime, and short-time work. Legislation was passed which acknowledged for the first time the presence of trade unions in the workplace, expanded the means of action of the works councils, and improved their work basics as well as those of the youth councils. A law of January 1972 on the organisation of labour in enterprises significantly extended the works council's right of cooperation and co-management in the matter of vocational training. That same year, the Safety Institute of the Federal Republic of Germany was transformed into a public Federal Agency (Bundesanstalt) with significantly enlarged powers, in the context of which special emphasis would be placed on its new task of promoting and coordinating research in the area of accident prevention. while the Federal Transport Plan of 1973 provided a framework for all transport, including public transport. In addition, the Severely Handicapped Persons Act of April 1974 extended the welfare and promotional obligations of the employer and provided a right to an extra holiday consisting of six working days. and in 1972 laws were passed to regulate garbage elimination and air pollution via emissions. Matching grants covering 90% of infrastructure development were allocated to local communities, which led to a dramatic increase in the number of public swimming pools and other facilities of consumptive infrastructure throughout West Germany. In addition, efforts were made to improve the railways and motorways. and in 1972 DDT was banned. The Federal Emissions Control Law, passed in March 1974, provided protection from noxious gases, noise, and air-borne particulate matter. In August 1971, a law came into force directed at reducing atmospheric pollution from lead compounds in four-stroke engine fuels. As a safeguard against radiation, a decree on the system of authorisations for medicaments treated with ionising radiation or containing radioactive substances, in its version of 8 August 1967, was remodelled by a new Decree of 10 May 1971 which added some radionuclides to the list of medicaments which doctors in private practice were authorised to use. Taking into account the enormous high peaks of air traffic noise and its concentration at a limited number of airports, the Law for Protection against Aircraft Noise of 1971 sought to balance two conflicting demands, the first being the legitimate demand by industry, business and the public for an efficient air traffic system, and secondly, the understandable and by no means less legitimate claims of the affected people for protection and compensation. The legislation regulated the establishment of so-called "Lärmschutzzonen" (protection areas against aircraft noise) for all 11 international airports and for those 34 military airports used for jet aircraft, and the law also authorised the Federal Department of the Interior to decree protection areas for each of those mentioned airports with approval by the "Bundesrat", the representation of the German Federal States.
Economy Under the Brandt Administration, West Germany attained a lower rate of inflation than in other industrialised countries at that time, According to one estimate, the percentage of West Germans living in poverty fell from 9.7% to 8.9% between 1969 and 1973, and from 20.2% to 14.0% according to another estimate. According to another estimate, the percentage of West Germans living in poverty during this period fell from 2.7% to 1.4%.
1972 crisis Brandt's
Ostpolitik led to a meltdown of the narrow majority Brandt's coalition enjoyed in the
Bundestag. In October 1970, FDP deputies
Erich Mende,
Heinz Starke, and Siegfried Zoglmann crossed the floor to join the CDU. On 23 February 1972, SPD deputy
Herbert Hupka, who was also leader of the
Bund der Vertriebenen, joined the CDU in disagreement with Brandt's reconciliatory efforts towards the east. On 23 April 1972, Wilhelm Helms (FDP) left the coalition. The FDP politicians Knud von Kühlmann-Stumm and Gerhard Kienbaum also declared that they would vote against Brandt, completing the loss of Brandt's majority. On 24 April 1972, a
constructive vote of no confidence was proposed, to be voted on three days later. In the event this motion passed, CDU leader
Rainer Barzel would have replaced Brandt as chancellor. On paper, the opposition now had 250 votes; just one over the 249 needed to oust Brandt. Even Brandt himself believed he was finished, and a number of unions went on strike in anticipation of Brandt's expected defeat on the floor of the Bundestag. To everyone's surprise, the motion failed: Barzel got only 247 votes out of 260 votes cast, two short of what he needed to become Chancellor. There were also 10 votes against the motion and three invalid ballots. Most SPD and FDP deputies abstained, which had the same effect as voting for Brandt.
New elections Though Brandt remained chancellor, he had lost his majority. Subsequent initiatives in parliament, most notably on the budget, failed. Because of this stalemate, the Bundestag was dissolved, and new elections were called. During the 1972 campaign, many popular West German artists, intellectuals, writers, actors and professors supported Brandt and the SPD. Among them were
Günter Grass,
Walter Jens, and even the
soccer player
Paul Breitner. Brandt's '''' as well as his reformist domestic policies were popular with parts of the young generation, and he led the SPD to its best-ever federal election result in late 1972. However, the '''', Brandt's landslide win, was the beginning of the end, and Brandt's role in government started to decline. Many of his reforms met with resistance from state governments, dominated by CDU/CSU. The spirit of reformist optimism was cut short by the
1973 oil crisis and the major public services strike of 1974, which gave Germany's trade unions, led by
Heinz Kluncker, a big wage increase but reduced Brandt's financial leeway for further reforms. Brandt was said to be more of a dreamer than a manager and was personally haunted by depression. To counter any notions about being sympathetic to Communism or soft on
left-wing extremists, Brandt implemented tough legislation that barred "radicals" from public service ('''').
Guillaume affair . This image was taken a month before Brandt's resignation as chancellor. conference in
Munich, with his successor
Helmut Schmidt, 1982 Around 1973, West German security organisations received information that one of Brandt's personal assistants,
Günter Guillaume, was a spy for the East German intelligence services. Brandt was asked to continue working as usual, and he agreed to do so, even taking a private vacation with Guillaume. Guillaume was arrested on 24 April 1974 and later sentenced to 13 years in prison for
treason. Brandt resigned from his position as chancellor on 6 May 1974, but he remained a member of the
Bundestag and chairman of the Social Democrats until 1987. This
espionage affair is widely considered to have been just the trigger for Brandt's resignation, not the fundamental cause. As Brandt himself later said, "I was exhausted, for reasons which had nothing to do with the affair [the Guillaume espionage scandal] going on at the time." Brandt was dogged by scandals about serial adultery and reportedly also struggled with alcohol and depression. There was also the economic fallout on West Germany of the
1973 oil crisis, which may seem to have given enough stress to finish off Brandt as the Chancellor. Guillaume had been an espionage agent for
East Germany, who was supervised by
Markus Wolf, the head of the
Main Directorate for Reconnaissance (
Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung or HVA—the foreign intelligence service) of the East German Ministry for State Security. Wolf stated after the reunification that the resignation of Brandt had never been intended, and that the planting and handling of Guillaume had been one of the biggest mistakes of the East German secret services. Brandt was succeeded as the Chancellor of the Bundesrepublik by his fellow Social Democrat,
Helmut Schmidt. For the rest of his life, Brandt remained suspicious that his fellow Social Democrat (and longtime rival)
Herbert Wehner had been scheming for Brandt's downfall. However, there is scant evidence to corroborate this suspicion. == Post-Chancellorship ==