Willy Brandt
About Willy Brandt
The Social Democratic Chancellor who transformed German foreign policy through Ostpolitik, seeking reconciliation with Eastern Europe. Brandt knelt before the Warsaw Ghetto Memorial in 1970, a powerful gesture of contrition for Nazi crimes that became known as the Kniefall. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971 for his Eastern policy. Brandt resigned in 1974 after it was revealed that a close aide was an East German spy. His Ostpolitik laid the groundwork for eventual German reunification. Brandt had been mayor of West Berlin during the Wall construction in 1961.
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