VORTRAG: Deutsch-israelische Militär- und Rüstungsbeziehungen

60 years of German-Israeli diplomatic relations

Political scientist Dr. Alexandra Kurth talks about German-Israeli military and arms relations as a special aspect of German-Israeli relations. German-Israeli military and armaments relations were initially secret. They were initiated on the German side by the conservative, Christian-social politician Franz Josef Strauß, who was Federal Minister of Defense in the Adenauer cabinet. Together with the Bundeswehr and the German arms industry, he made a decisive contribution to the arms policy of the State of Israel, which was initiated via the Israeli Trade Mission based in Cologne as part of German-Israeli trade relations following the Luxembourg Agreement on the payment of Shilumim funds (unhappily called "reparations" in German). These armaments relations were a decisive contribution to confidence-building before the start of diplomatic relations, but were conducted in secret.

The lecture will shed light on military and arms relations in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany up to the present day. Please shed light on this topic, as these relations were not always free of contradictions. In certain crisis situations, arms exports, which were sorely needed especially in Israel's wars, declined on various occasions, for example under Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt, who also prohibited supplies from the American allies via Germany during the threatening Yom Kippur War of all times, and most recently under Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Federal Foreign Minister Anna Lena Baerbock and Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck, who massively curbed arms deliveries, especially after 10/7.

When: June 5, 2025, 7 p.m.

Who: Dr. Alexandra Kurth - University of Giessen, former member of the Presidium of the German-Israeli Society.University of Giessen, former member of the Presidium of the German-Israeli Society.

See also:

More here: https://www.sgk.de/termin/deutsch-israelische-militaer-und-ruestungsbeziehungen/

Registration at: Lecture German-Israeli Military and Armaments Relations