NATO chooses discretion

[LoneCollector1987]

Originally Posted by RN7

2) Who will stop it? The Germans paid no regard to NATO during German Reunification and they have the technology to develop nuclear weapons by themselves.
3) Who will make them leave former German territories if they don't want to?

May I play Advocatus diaboli?

In the T2k timeline Germany has the possibility of using the allied arguments against them. In real life with the 2+4 treaty these arguments are no longer valid.

I refer to
1) Berlin Declaration of 1945
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Declaration_(1945)

and
2) Atlantic Charter
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Charter

According to the first, Germany continues to exist within the borders of December 31st, 1937.
And according to 2) borders may change not be force.

The eight principal points of the Charter were:
2) territorial adjustments must be in accord with the wishes of the peoples concerned;
3) all people had a right to self-determination;

And expelling people is against the Hague Conventions of 1907. And I believe that the Germans of the Eastern territories (East-Prussia, Silesia etc) 1945 would never vote for becoming citizens of Russia or Poland.

So IF we accept that the Germans are willing to go to war over 7 ethnic Germans from Silesia (what the real Germany of our timeline would never do or even think about it) than we could say that the Germans of the T2k timeline would use the Declaration, the Charter and the Convention to claim that they are just restoring the borders to the rightful "status quo ante bellum".


Nearly OT but important!
We have a difference between the english and the german wikipedia regarding the Berlin Declaration. In the fine print but nevertheless.

English:
"The preamble of the declaration confirmed...the continued subsequent existence of a German national territory ...taken to be as defined on 31 December 1937, although subject to the four signatory powers ...authority that would shortly be exercised in the incorporation of eastern territories into Poland and the Soviet Union."

German:
"Eine Annexion war damit ausdrücklich nicht verbunden, die Entscheidung über die Grenzen ...Deutschlands oder eines Teil Deutschlands wurde für einen späteren Zeitpunkt angekündigt."
and
"und die „deutschen Grenzen nach dem Stande vom 31. Dezember 1937“ fortbestanden"

Rough translation: Germany was not subject to annexation, a decision about the borders ...for Germany and parts of Germany was postponed to a later date"
and
"the german borders continue to exist according to the date of December 31st, 1937."