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If it is not to lapse into disillusionment and bored nihilism, West Germany must find a larger national role than serving as a pawn between East and West. Such a role might have been—and one day still may be—helping to build a united Europe. But for the present, Charles de Gaulle has virtually wrecked that vision. De Gaulle has thus both frustrated German ambitions for an acceptable, even idealistic, role in the world, and provided an old-fashioned example of nationalism that is highly contagious.
A few Germans have been saying for some time that Bonn ought to ignore its allies, who have not been able to do anything about reunification, and negotiate with Russia directly. The overwhelming West German sentiment is still that the country must stay with the U.S. and in the Western Alliance, but as Germany's frustrations mount, more go-it-alone talk will be heard. Says André François-Poncet, twice (1931-38 and 1949-55) France's Ambassador to Germany: "A country cut in two is monstrous, and as long as Germany is not reunited, there will not be real peace in the world." Or, for that matter, in the German soul.