Buying East Germany

West German Chancellor Ludwig Erhard had big plans for his time in office, which would end up lasting just three years.

Declassified documents from the CIA and the US State Department reveal that Erhard wanted to buy East Germany back from the control of the Soviet Union, according to an article in the German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel. A member of Erhard's staff at the time told the magazine the former chancellor considered paying $2 billion a year for 10 years.

The Soviet government was struggling economically and would be open to a trading then East Germany for hard currency argued Erhard, a former finance minister who would become known as the father of the economic miracle that brought the West German economy back to life after World War II.

The plan was proposed to the American Ambassador George McGhee in the West German capital of Bonn in October 1963. McGhee sent a report to Washington detailing the "originality" and the typical for Erhard "economic touch" of the plan. He concluded, however, that the idea demonstrated a "serious political naiveté.

The State Department agreed that the plan was "unrealistic."

A few months later, after the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy, Erhard met with newly sworn in President Lyndon B. Johnson on his ranch in Texas. Erhard suggested that Johnson pass on West Germany's offer to USSR's Nikita Khrushchev. Johnson reacted coolly, according to the Spiegel report, saying he had no plans to meet with the Soviet leader.

By October 1964 Khrushchev had lost power, Johnson was distracted by US elections and England, France, Italy and Japan had all offered the Soviet Union cheap loans. Two and a half decades later, however, German reunification would take place after a peaceful East German uprising.

Germany is set to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the country's reunification on Monday.

Author: Holly Fox (AFP, dpa)

Editor: Sean Sinico