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ArgumentFew would dispute the fact that the German question was definitively closed on October 3rd, 1990 when Germany once again became a unified and fully sovereign country. For forty-five years, the German question was both a nexus of intricate issues relating to the much postponed settlement of Germany&#8217;s defeat in World War II and a fundamental interrogation on the desirable future(s) of Germany&#8212;or the two Germanys&#8212;in Europe and in the international system as a whole. It was, arguably, the most central issue throughout the Cold War, at least in Europe : &#8220;The German problem,&#8221; General Charles de Gaulle famously declared in 1965, &#8220;is the European problem.&#8221;As such, the German question was central for all European powers, including of course the two superpowers, whose antagonistic relationship determined the fate of the divided country throughout the Cold War. Yet one country stands out as perhaps the most concerned of all : France. The factors explaining that country&#8217;s particular interest in&#8212;and influence over&#8212;the German question in that period are multiple. History, of course, is key : over the course of three quarters of a century, the Franco-German conflict had been responsible for three wars, including the two world wars. Solving the German question, from 1945 onward, could not be achieved without overcoming this conflict ; conversely, Franco- German reconciliation, in and of itself, was central to solving the German question. Another major factor behind the importance of the German question for France &#8212; and of France&#8217;s policies for Germany &#8212; had to do with the politics of European construction : to a large extent as a result of the foregoing, France and Germany, since 1950, have been the leading forces shaping the European community. The two countries thus created one of the most important preconditions for solving the German question and allowing for Germany&#8217;s unification peacefully. (Two other important preconditions, or sets of preconditions, were of course, respectively, the existence of NATO and the role of the United States, and European d&#233;tente and the role of the Soviet Union.)To be sure, France&#8217;s role in the German question has been the subject of considerable research, especially in the past twenty years. Yet systematic explorations of this matter both in its thematic breadth and chronological depth are scarce. The time has come for such an exploration. To a large extent, archival sources are now accessible for most of the period in most countries, including in France. Franco-German relations are no longer determined by this once vital consideration, thus allowing for a more detached treatment of this issue. In addition and even more importantly, the historiography has entered a phase of renewal. France&#8217;s policies with regard to the German question in that period are being revaluated, especially in the early decade (1945-1955) and in the final one (1981-1991). Relying on new archival material and/or new interpretations, historians have recently shown that these policies were far more significant and constructive than was previously believed, both in terms of accepting West Germany&#8217;s resurgence in the immediate post war period and in terms of eventually accepting German unification.ProgrammePour les personnes d&#233;sireuses d'assister au colloque, inscription obligatoire sur le site :&#160;http://www.univ-paris3.fr/france-and-the-german-question-1945-1990-178081.kjspThursday, February 7th13h30 Registration14h00 Welcome addressesFr&#233;d&#233;ric Bozo, Universit&#233; Sorbonne-Nouvelle, Paris 3Stefan Martens, Deutsches Historisches Institut Paris1/ France, the &#8220;Long&#8221; Cold War, and the German QuestionChair: Stefan Martens, Deutsches Historisches Institut Paris14h30 &#8211; 16h15 Panel 1Lily Gardner Feldman, American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, Johns Hopkins University: &#8220;The Possibilities and Limits of Reconciliation with Germany during the Cold War&#8221;Thomas Angerer, Universit&#228;t Wien: &#8220;Banned From but Bound With: The Austrian Problem and the German Question in French perspective&#8221;Matthieu Osmont, SciencesPo: &#8220;The French Ambassadors in Bonn and the German Question, 1955-1990&#8221;Comment: Anne Deighton, University of Oxford16h15 &#8211; 16h45 Coffee break16h45 &#8211; 18h Panel 2Pierre-Fr&#233;d&#233;ric Weber, University of Szczecin: &#8220;France, Poland, and Germany's Eastern border (1945-1990)&#8221;Ulrich Pfeil, Universit&#233; de Lorraine: &#8220;France-GDR relations and the German Question, 1949-1989&#8221;Comment: H&#233;l&#232;ne Miard-Delacroix, Universit&#233; Paris-Sorbonne, Paris IVFriday, February 8th2/ The Early Cold War and the German QuestionChair: Horst M&#246;ller, Institut f&#252;r Zeitgeschichte M&#252;nchen-Berlin9h &#8211; 10h15 Panel 3Rainer Hudemann, Universit&#233; Paris-Sorbonne, Paris IV/Universit&#228;t des Saarlandes: &#8220;France and the German Question 1945-1950. Reflections on the evolution of research and interpretations since the after-war years&#8221;Fran&#231;oise Berger, Sciences Po Grenoble: &#8220;Economic and industrial issues in France's approach to the German question in the post-war period&#8221;Comment: Eric Bussi&#232;re, Universit&#233; Paris-Sorbonne, Paris IV10h15 &#8211; 10h45 Coffee break10h45 &#8211; 12h00 Panel 4Michael Creswell, Florida State University: &#8220;France, German Rearmament, and the German Question 1950-1955&#8221;Geoffrey Roberts, University College Cork: &#8220;France, the German Question and European Collective Security: The View from Moscow, 1953-1957&#8221;Comment: Jean-Christophe Romer, Universit&#233; de Strasbourg12h &#8211; 13h Lunch break3/ A de Gaulle Factor ?Chair: Maurice Va&#239;sse, SciencesPo13h &#8211; 14h45 Panel 5Garret Martin, George Washington University: &#8220;An arbiter between the superpowers: General de Gaulle and the German question, 1958-1969&#8221;Benedikt Schoenborn, University of Tampere: &#8220;The German Question in French and German Eastern policies of the 1960s&#8221;Philip Bajon, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem: &#8220;&#8216;Head-on Clash of Reconciled Hereditary Enemies&#8217;? The German Question in the European Crisis of 1965-66&#8221;Comment: N. Piers Ludlow, London School of Economics14h45 &#8211; 15h15 Coffee break4/ D&#233;tente and Ostpolitik: The German Question revisited?Chair: Robert Frank, Universit&#233; Paris 1 Panth&#233;on-Sorbonne15h15 &#8211; 16h30 Panel 6Andreas Wilkens, Universit&#233; de Lorraine: &#8220;France, Ostpolitik, and the German Question, 1969-1974&#8221;Nicolas Badalassi, Universit&#233; Sorbonne-Nouvelle, Paris 3: &#8220;France, the CSCE and the German Question 1969-1975&#8221;Comment: Marie-Pierre Rey, Universit&#233; Paris 1 Panth&#233;on-Sorbonne16h45 &#8211; 18h Panel 7Georges-Henri Soutou, Universit&#233; Paris-Sorbonne: &#8220;Val&#233;ry Giscard d&#8217;Estaing and the German Problem&#8221;Guido Thiemeyer, Universit&#233; de Cergy-Pontoise: &#8220;Val&#233;ry Giscard d&#8217;Estaing, Helmut Schmidt and the German question 1969-1979.&#8221;Comment: Matthias Waechter, Institut europ&#233;en NiceSaturday, February 9th5/ The Cold War EndgameChair: Fr&#233;d&#233;ric Bozo, Universit&#233; Sorbonne-Nouvelle, Paris 39h15 &#8211; 11h00 Panel 8Katrin R&#252;cker, Universit&#233; de Gen&#232;ve: &#8220;France, the Euromissile Crisis and the German Question in the 1980s&#8221;&#160;Bernd Rother, Bundeskanzler Willy Brandt Stiftung:&#160; &#8220;Willy Brandt, Fran&#231;ois Mitterrand, the German Question and German Unification, 1981-1990&#8221;Christian Wenkel, Deutsches Historisches Institut Paris: &#8220;Recognizing the GDR without recognizing German division. The example of Fran&#231;ois Mitterrand&#8217;s trip to the GDR in 1989&#8221;Comment: Georges Saunier, Institut Fran&#231;ois Mitterrand11h00 &#8211; 11h30 Coffee break11h30 &#8211; 13h15 Panel 9Ilaria Poggiolini, University of Pavia: &#8220;Britain, France, and German Unification&#8221;Jeffrey Engel, Southern Methodist University: &#8220;Bush, Germany, and the Power of Time&#8221;Mary Sarotte, University of Southern California: &#8220;Conflicting French and American Visions for the Post-Cold War World&#8221;Comment: Andreas R&#246;dder, Johannes-Gutenberg-Universit&#228;t Mainz13h15 ConclusionsMarie-Pierre Rey, Universit&#233; Paris 1 Panth&#233;on-SorbonneScientific CommitteeFr&#233;d&#233;ric Bozo (Sorbonne Nouvelle &#8211; Universit&#233; Paris III), Marie-Pierre Rey (Universit&#233; Panth&#233;on Sorbonne &#8211; Paris I), Stefan Martens (Deutsches Historisches Institut), N. Piers Ludlow (London School of Economics), H&#233;l&#232;ne Miard- Delacroix (Universit&#233; Paris Sorbonne &#8211; Paris IV), Mary Sarotte (University of Southern California), Christian Wenkel (Ludwigs-Maximilians-Universit&#228;t M&#252;nchen), Andreas Wilkens (Universit&#233; de Lorraine)