Dr. Daniele Ganser: NATO Armaments Madness in Germany and Mind Award (Montabaur 26.3.2019)

Swiss historian and peace researcher Dr. Daniele Ganser spoke on August 21, 2018 in Leipzig about the NATO expansion, which he classified as a breach of promise. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the reunification, Germany became a member of NATO. The Soviet Union peacefully withdrew all its soldiers from Germany. The NATO had promised not to expand its sphere of influence to the East, US Secretary of State James Baker pledged on February 9, 1990, in Moscow to Mikhail Gorbachev. Historian Ganser presents the word-for-word transcript of the conversation. This proves that Baker promised that NATO would not. Shortly after the coup, on March 16, 2014, the population of Crimea voted for secession from Ukraine and annexation to Russia. According to Ganser, this was considered a secession, not an annexation. In his conclusion, the historian emphasizes the importance of respecting the UN ban on the use of force. He particularly stresses the importance of not dividing the human family along national borders, as this has historically led to war and suffering.