Bonn: 5 September 1962

Charles de Gaulle, in the company of Konrad Adenauer, visits Bonn, a remarkable event in the long process of post-war reconciliation in Europe.

In the 1960s, both de Gaulle and Adenauer viewed American and British leadership with disdain.

Both men believed that Kennedy was a lightweight and an adventurer, and that Kennedy had grievously mishandled the Berlin crisis of 1961.

Both men believed that post-war Britain had embarked upon a misguided economic program doomed to render the nation irrelevant, and that Britain wanted to join the Common Market solely in order for France and Germany to become willing participants in the long-term absorption of Britain’s economic blunders. De Gaulle very publicly opposed Britain’s entry into the Common Market; Adenauer, whose government officially supported Britain’s entry, worked tirelessly behind the scenes to keep Britain out.