Diskussion: Beruehmter Teppich - Adenauers Aussenpolitik

X-post: H-German

Thanks to Ronald Granieri for his good contribution to the Mystery of the Missing Rug. I hope it wasn't thrown out.

His post may not help Sabine Vogel in her quest to find the rug, but he lays out the story in an interesting and useful way. Indeed, his short description of the episode goaded me into connecting some dots in a way I have not done before. Although I knew about the famous rug incident, and although I have taught courses on "comparative peacemaking," it has never before occurred to me that Adenauer's seemingly ephemeral actions are entirely parallel to the famous "scene" produced by Talleyrand in his first meeting with the Big Four at the Congress of Vienna, on 30 September 1814. As Friedrich von Gentz described it, Talleyrand "berated them soundly" for two hours, demanding an equal place at the Congress for France. Gentz wrote: "The intervention of Talleyrand hopelessly upset our plans. It was a scene I shall never forget."

While the two episodes contrast in many ways, we still have the interesting parallel of the vanquished using a moment of startled embarrassment, connected with issues of protocol and common politeness, to make substantial gains. In both cases, the moment was defined not only by the boldness of the losing power's representative, but also by a hesitancy on the part of the allied representatives to do anything that would increase the social discomfort of the moment. In both cases this hesitation led to more substantive results.

In both cases, of course, much larger issues (and a great variety of them) conditioned these momentary diplomatic episodes, but it is also interesting that Russia stood in the background both in 1814 and 1949, and indeed, provided reinforcement for the acquiescence displayed by the allied representatives. And of course, both Talleyrand and Adenauer were trying at many levels to deliver the message--as Talleyrand did explicitly on 30 September 1814--that they represented not the defeated aggressor, but a new and decent regime, one prepared to be a partner.

Hunt Tooley

Austin College
Sherman, Texas


Quelle = Email <H-Soz-u-Kult>

From: Hunt Tooley <htooley@austinc.edu>
Subject: Re: Anfrage: Beruehmter Teppich
Date: 30.3.1998


       

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