Berlin: Federal Activities

A file containing documents relating to federal West German political activities taking place in Berlin. The principal subject covered in the file is the decision to hold the Bundesversammlung, a meeting to elect the West German president, in West Berlin in March 1969. Documents in the file cover considerable uncertainty over the date and venue of the Bundesversammlung; the difficulties created by the involvement of the National Democratic Party of Germany, a far-right party; and a Soviet note of protest against the event. Other aspects of this subject covered include the possibility of Soviet or East German retaliation for an event that they regarded as provocative; East German propaganda that amplified the Soviet position; Romanian involvement in the campaign against the Bundesversammlung; and the view of Western governments that the meeting was a West German domestic concern.