His assistant was a Stasi agent, and his policy was secretly supported by the KGB. What the history of Willy Brandt teaches us
Brandt's life teaches us: not always are those in front of us or next to us who they claim to be. Brandt grew up without a father and was forced to flee his homeland when he became an enemy of the Nazi regime. Deprived of German citizenship, he fought for a long time from exile. But his "New Ostpolitik", which he pursued as chancellor, is still debated: was it a special influence operation by the KGB or the foundation for the future unification of Germany?
General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee and de facto head of the USSR, Leonid Brezhnev (left) and Chancellor of the FRG, Willy Brandt. Bonn. May 20, 1973. Photo: AP Photo
The Youth of Herbert Frahm
Herbert Frahm – this was Willy Brandt's birth name. He was born on December 18, 1913, in the working-class suburb of Lübeck. His mother, Martha Frahm (née Ewert), worked as a shop assistant, but her true passion was politics and trade unions.
Herbert Frahm. 1914. Photo: Willy-Brandt-Archiv im AdsD, Bonn / willy-brandt-biografie.de
She was an activist of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and took a rather active stance in local trade unions. Martha read a lot and, unlike many neighbors from poor quarters, spoke literary German. However, the woman hardly cared for her own son.
Martha was unmarried and bore a son by a teacher from Hamburg, who temporarily taught at a secondary school in Lübeck in 1912-1913. When the mother registered the birth of her son, she did not name the father. Herbert himself learned of his identity only in 1947.
Initially, Herbert grew up with his mother. But she worked, and on weekdays, a neighbor looked after the child. From 1919, his adoptive grandfather Ludwig Frahm (1875-1935), who was not biologically related to him, took over the care of the child. The man married Wilhelmina, Martha's mother, in 1899.
After returning from World War I, Ludwig grew very fond of five-year-old Herbert. He took him in and raised him even after Wilhelmina died and he remarried.
Wedding of Ludwig Frahm and Dorothea Salman. 1919. Little Herbert Frahm sits in the first row on the right. Photo: picture press / STERN / willy-brandt-biografie.de
As a result, Herbert called his adoptive grandfather "father." In his Abiturzeugnis (high school diploma), Ludwig Frahm was listed as his father. Only a year before the man's death did Herbert learn that he was not his biological grandfather.
In September 1927, Herbert's mother married, and in February 1928, his half-brother Günther Kuhlmann was born. From then on, Herbert saw his mother "only sporadically." Recalling his childhood, Brandt described his youth as "homeless," and his mother as "the woman who gave birth to me."
Little Herbert Frahm (seated left in the first row) and his mother Martha (directly behind him) among members of the "Lübeck Friends of Nature" society
Brandt's illegitimate birth, which in the eyes of society at the time carried the burden of shame, became a painful weapon in the hands of his political opponents. Even when he was already leading the Federal Republic, this circumstance was regularly used to humiliate him.
School and the beginning of political interest
It was Ludwig Frahm, an activist of the Social Democratic Party, who became not only a family support for Herbert but also his first teacher in politics. Thanks to his grandfather, young Herbert delved into ideology, studying the works of the Marxist August Bebel.
Herbert Frahm on his first day of school. Photo: Willy-Brandt-Archiv im AdsD, Bonn / willy-brandt-biografie.de
In 1925, he became a member of Kinderfreunde – a children's group of the socialist association "Falcons." From April 1929, he became a member of the organization "Socialist Workers' Youth" (SAJ).
Herbert Frahm in 1923. Photo: Willy-Brandt-Archiv im AdsD, Bonn / willy-brandt-biografie.de
It was in this environment, starting in 1927, that Frahm began to write. The newspaper Lübecker Volksbote, a local SPD publication, published his first article in February 1927 with two sketches about a schoolboy's day trip with friends to the source of the Trave River. From 1928, Frahm began to publish texts on political topics.
Herbert Frahm on the day of his secular coming-of-age ceremony (Jugendweihe). April 1, 1928. Photo: Willy-Brandt-Archiv im AdsD, Bonn / willy-brandt-biografie.de
In 1930, the young man formally joined the SPD. But just a year later, in October 1931, he broke with it and joined the newly formed Socialist Workers' Party of Germany (SAPD).
In 1932, Frahm brilliantly passed his final exams at the gymnasium. Notably, in his application for the exams, he stated his life's calling: journalist. However, instead of studying, the young man began an internship in Lübeck at a company engaged in maritime transport, ship brokering, and freight forwarding.
Herbert Frahm. 1932. Photo: Willy-Brandt-Archiv im AdsD, Bonn / willy-brandt-biografie.de
Norway and the pseudonym Willy Brandt
After Hitler's appointment as Reich Chancellor in January 1933 and the start of the National Socialist dictatorship, the Socialist Workers' Party was declared extremist, banned, and forced to continue its activities underground.
In March 1933, Herbert Frahm was tasked with organizing the departure of one of the party leaders, Paul Frölich, to Oslo. However, Frölich was arrested, and therefore Frahm himself took on the task of establishing an organizational cell in Oslo. It was during this period that he adopted the "battle pseudonym" Willy Brandt, which he retained for the rest of his life.
The man emigrated to Norway via Denmark. From 1934, he began studying history in Oslo but did not complete his studies, as he was completely absorbed in political activities and work as a journalist for Norwegian newspapers. In Oslo, Brandt also managed the central office of the Youth Union of the Socialist Workers' Party of Germany and represented it before international organizations.
Willy Brandt in a traditional Norwegian student cap. 1934. Photo: Willy-Brandt-Archiv im AdsD, Bonn / willy-brandt-biografie.de
In October 1936, Willy Brandt traveled to Berlin with a Norwegian passport under the name Gunnar Gaasland. His task was to establish contacts with comrades underground and coordinate resistance. Brandt lived in Berlin disguised as a Norwegian student. He spent the first half of the day in the Prussian State Library, and in the afternoon and evening, as well as on weekends, he secretly met with friends from the Socialist Party of Germany. After staying almost until Christmas, Brandt returned to Norway.
Willy Brandt and Gertrud Meyer. December 1933. They had been a couple since 1931. Photo: Walter-A.-Behrendsohn-Forschungsstelle für deutsche Exilliteratur, Hamburg / willy-brandt-biografie.de
He received the passport thanks to a fictitious marriage between his childhood friend, Gertrud Meyer (who also emigrated to Norway and lived with Brandt until 1939), and a real Norwegian, Gunnar Gaasland. This marriage gave the girl Norwegian citizenship, and Brandt the opportunity to use her husband's name for underground work.
Spain and World War II
In 1937, Willy Brandt traveled to civil war-torn Spain as a journalist. He sided with the anti-Stalinist Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM), which supported the Republicans. In Spain, Brandt witnessed the irreconcilable struggle between leftists.
After four months in Spain, Brandt quickly left for Paris, and from there – back to Oslo.
From the autumn of 1938, Willy Brandt worked as secretary of the "Norwegian Aid Committee for Spain" and served as a press spokesman in Oslo. In December 1939, the organization changed its name to "Norwegian People's Aid" and expanded its activities to provide assistance to civilian victims of the Soviet-Finnish "Winter War" (1939-1940).
In addition, the young man regularly appeared as a guest lecturer at various educational events and courses for workers.
Course leader Willy Brandt (second from right in the back row) with students of the Workers' High School. Malmøya. 1939. Photo: Arbeiderbevegelsens arkiv og bibliotek, Oslo / willy-brandt-biografie.de
In September 1938, the government of Hitler's Germany stripped Willy Brandt of his citizenship. Becoming stateless, he applied for Norwegian citizenship. However, in June 1939, the Ministry of Justice in Oslo suspended consideration of his application.
Formally, Brandt met the main condition – he had lived in Norway for more than five years. But he could not confirm regular tax payments, as he did not have a work permit and, accordingly, could not officially receive income.
Despite this, the authorities granted the 25-year-old Brandt a permanent residence permit instead of a temporary one, which previously had to be renewed every six months. Thus, the young man remained in Norway, albeit without citizenship.
In April 1940, Hitler's troops occupied Norway. What was Herbert Frahm, also known as Willy Brandt, who was officially considered an enemy of the Reich, to do?
German tanks in Oslo. Photo: Bundesarchiv / willy-brandt-biografie.de
To avoid falling into the hands of the Nazis, Brandt left his pregnant wife in Oslo with a familiar Norwegian couple, and he himself, with several activists of the Norwegian Labour Party, set off by truck to the east of the country. Later, he secretly moved around the country, trying to leave it, and at one point was captured.
However, since the man was wearing a Norwegian soldier's uniform during his captivity, he remained unidentified. Brandt spent about two months in a prisoner-of-war camp, and then the prisoners were sent home.
After staying for some time at a dacha near Oslo, on June 30, he went to the Swedish border. A local farmer showed him a secret path across the border, and at one o'clock in the morning on July 1, Brandt surrendered to Swedish soldiers near Skillingsmark.
Willy Brandt near Oslo. June 1940. Photo: Keystone / willy-brandt-biografie.de
In Stockholm in August 1940, Brandt received a Norwegian passport and, together with two Swedish journalists, founded a Swedish-Norwegian press agency, which supplied news to 70 daily newspapers in Sweden. He also worked as an editor for the Norwegian magazine Håndslag and wrote books.
On October 30, 1940, when Willy Brandt's first child, daughter Ninja, was born, the young father was in Stockholm. More than 400 kilometers separated him from his wife, who remained in Oslo. Brandt saw his child for the first time only two months later in December 1940 during a secret visit to the Norwegian capital. The family reunited in May 1941 in Stockholm, where the marriage was concluded.
Brandt worked as a journalist, and Carlota in the press service of the Norwegian embassy. For those times, the family lived quite well: they could afford both a winter skiing and a summer vacation annually, which aroused envy among other emigrants.
Ninja Frahm. Approximately 1941. Photo: Willy-Brandt-Archiv im AdsD, Bonn / willy-brandt-biografie.de
Return to the Homeland
After the end of World War II, in 1945-1946, Willy Brandt repeatedly visited Germany as a correspondent for Scandinavian newspapers, in particular, he reported from the Nuremberg trials of the main war criminals.
In May 1946, he visited his native Lübeck, where he gave a speech, after which he received an offer to become mayor. However, as he later confessed, "Lübeck seemed too confined to me."
Instead of Lübeck, at the suggestion of the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, he went to Berlin as press attaché of the Norwegian military mission with the rank of major.
Willy Brandt in 1945. Photo: Arbeiderbevegelsens arkiv og bibliotek, Oslo / willy-brandt-biografie.de
In 1946, his book "Criminals and Other Germans" was published in Norway. In it, Brandt reflects on responsibility and guilt and concludes: guilt cannot be collective and it should not be inherited. But responsibility can be collective.
In his homeland, the mere title of the book irritated Germans for decades. Only in the 70s were individual excerpts from it published in West Germany.
In 1948, Willy Brandt regained German citizenship (losing Norwegian citizenship simultaneously) and entered politics. In 1949, upon his application, the chief of police in Berlin officially allowed him to change his name to Willy Brandt.
Ascension in Berlin
In Berlin, Willy Brandt became a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Brandt actively cooperated with the "SPD East Bureau," which collected information and supported illegal social democrats in the Soviet occupation zone (later GDR).
He often announced the results of this work at international press conferences, which led the East German authorities to consider him one of the leaders of a "spy center."
From 1949, Brandt, as a deputy from West Berlin, began working in the first German Bundestag (FRG parliament).
In November 1956, large-scale anti-Soviet demonstrations erupted in Berlin. Brandt, unlike other politicians, took a firm stance, speaking before the crowd. His ability to calm the demonstrators and prevent an explosive situation brought him widespread popularity.
Willy Brandt sitting in a police car, from where he addresses demonstrators. November 5, 1956. Photo: Willy-Brandt-Archiv im AdsD, Bonn / willy-brandt-biografie.de
On October 3, 1957, Willy Brandt was elected Governing Mayor of Berlin (mayor) and held this position until December 1966. He was re-elected twice, in 1958 and 1963.
Entry into national politics
Mayor Brandt became famous throughout Germany in August 1961, when the GDR erected the Berlin Wall. On the third day after its construction, Brandt gathered a 300,000-strong rally and also sent a personal letter to U.S. President John F. Kennedy demanding immediate intervention.
In 1963, his authority grew after John F. Kennedy's visit to West Berlin. At a rally, the American president uttered the famous words "Ich bin ein Berliner," and local residents paid tribute not only to the guest but also to the mayor who hosted him.
U.S. President John F. Kennedy (foreground in the back seat of the car), Berlin Mayor Willy Brandt (center) and FRG Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. Berlin, June 26, 1963. Photo: Wikipedia Commons
But the position of mayor was not enough for the politician. In 1961 and 1963, Willy Brandt was nominated for the post of Federal Chancellor. In 1964, he was elected chairman of the SPD, and in 1966, he joined the "Grand Coalition" government, where he received the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs.
In this position, Brandt promoted a shift away from the previous confrontational course with Eastern Bloc countries in favor of a policy of "change through rapprochement" (Wandel durch Annäherung). A vivid manifestation of this was the establishment of diplomatic relations between the FRG and Yugoslavia and Romania.
Chancellor of Germany: New Ostpolitik
In 1969, Willy Brandt was elected Chancellor of West Germany on his third attempt. A new page opened in the history of the country and all of Europe.
Willy Brandt after being elected Federal Chancellor. October 21, 1969. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Having won the chancellorship, Willy Brandt offered West Germany the slogan: "More courage in strengthening democracy." "True democracy," Brandt said, "is the shared responsibility of independent people. Citizens must be involved in state governance and decision-making."
Willy Brandt's government carried out important reforms in West Germany. Despite mistakes and miscalculations, in three years, healthcare was improved, especially in the fight against oncological diseases. The system of pensions, trade unions, urban planning, and child accident insurance was reformed. And Willy Brandt was one of the first Western politicians seriously concerned about environmental problems.
However, Brandt will go down in history primarily as the author of a fundamental shift in foreign policy, known as the "New Ostpolitik" (Neue Ostpolitik).
Until then, since 1955, the foreign policy of the Federal Republic of Germany was based on the Hallstein Doctrine. According to this doctrine, the FRG did not recognize the GDR and did not engage in diplomatic relations with states that recognized the sovereignty of East Germany.
Brandt, however, resolutely abandoned this approach, which he considered a dead end and harmful to the German people. He proposed a policy of "small steps" and establishing contacts. He understood that the unification of Germany was impossible without dialogue, and constructive dialogue was impossible without mutual recognition.
Historians and political commentators still have no unified opinion on the "New Ostpolitik." Although it eventually became the foundation for the unification of Germany, its implementation during the Cold War caused much debate.
There were (and are) conjectures and claims that Brandt's doctrine might have been secretly supported and even shaped with the participation of the KGB of the USSR, which saw in "rapprochement" an opportunity to weaken the Western bloc and stabilize Eastern satellites. For Brandt's political opponents, this was evidence of betrayal, but for his supporters, it was a manifestation of extraordinary thinking and a genuine desire for peace.
If one questions this course due to possible KGB influence, it should be remembered that the "New Ostpolitik" was not abandoned by subsequent leaders of the FRG. Not only Brandt's party colleague Helmut Schmidt (1974—1982), but also the Christian Democrat Helmut Kohl (1982—1998) continued to develop "dialogue" with the East for the sake of unification.
In 1970, Brandt signed the Moscow Treaty, which included an obligation to renounce the use of force and to recognize modern European borders. In particular, the FRG renounced claims to the Kaliningrad region, and the USSR promised not to hinder the unification of Germany if the preconditions for this appeared in the future.
Later that same year, he signed a treaty officially recognizing the Polish People's Republic within its post-1945 borders.
Symbol of Repentance
On December 7, 1970, during his visit to Poland, Willy Brandt made an unexpected gesture. Diplomatic protocol stipulated laying a wreath at the monument to the heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto. Having completed the obligatory part of the ceremony, Willy Brandt knelt directly on the wet, cold paving stones in front of the monument. Not everyone in his homeland appreciated his act. Half of West Germans considered it excessive and inappropriate.
Willy Brandt in front of the monument to the heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto. December 7, 1970. Photo: AP Photo / file
In 1971, Willy Brandt once again came to Oslo, this time for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. In 1973, he became the first German Chancellor to speak from the UN tribune and visit Israel.
In the same year, the Basic Treaty (Grundlagenvertrag) between the GDR and the FRG came into force. The states recognized each other and then simultaneously became members of the UN.
Spy Scandal and Resignation
However, Brandt's governance was far from cloudless. In the autumn of 1972, his political career literally hung by a thread. Direct opponents from the Christian Democratic Union initiated a vote of no confidence in the Bundestag.
Willy Brandt. 1972. Photo: AP Photo
The fate of the chancellor was decided by a few votes, and only by a small margin did he retain power. It later turned out that at least two deputies had received bribes from the Ministry for State Security of the GDR (Stasi) – 50,000 marks each.
This hard-won victory was Brandt's last great success. Although he won the political battle, the internal stability of his government began to weaken rapidly. Early parliamentary elections had to be held, after which sharp disagreements arose with coalition allies and his own party.
Against this backdrop, the country was hit by a new blow – the 1973 oil crisis. For the first time in the history of the FRG, the federal government imposed restrictions on car traffic to save fuel. Economic growth rates sharply declined, unemployment rose, and high tariff agreements demanded by trade unions further curtailed the government's opportunities for further reforms. All this undermined Brandt's authority and created an atmosphere of general tension.
It was at this moment that the government faced a new — and fatal — blow. In the spring of 1973, suspicions arose that the Chancellor's personal assistant, Günter Guillaume, might be a GDR agent. Despite doubts, Guillaume continued to work for Brandt and even accompanied him and his family on vacation in Norway.
Willy Brandt (seated) and Günter Guillaume. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
At the end of April 1974, after an official visit to Egypt, Brandt was met at the airport by Interior Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, who reported: Günter Guillaume has been arrested, he is indeed a GDR spy. A grandiose political scandal erupted in the country. Willy Brandt took full responsibility and resigned on May 6, 1974.
For another 13 years after his resignation, Willy Brandt led the SPD and was elected to the European Parliament from it.
Israeli Finance Minister Shimon Peres (right) with Willy Brandt during a banquet celebrating the 75th birthday of the former German Federal Chancellor. The celebration was held later than the actual date. January 20, 1989. Photo: AP Photo / Fritz Reiss
One of Brandt's last high-profile actions was his flight to Iraq on November 9, 1990, to secure the release of 174 Western hostages of Saddam Hussein. From August 1992, Brandt's health deteriorated significantly. He died of cancer on October 8, 1992.
Exactly two years before this, Brandt was able to witness the result of his New Ostpolitik — the unification of Germany.
Brandt was not a saint in his personal life
Brandt liked to drink, valued coziness and personal comfort. Behind his outward restraint lay a fragile emotional balance — he often fell into melancholy, especially after setbacks, and suffered from periods of depression.
Women always felt his charisma, but those close to him said: "He is more of a romantic than a womanizer."
Brandt was officially married three times. During his emigration to Norway, he met his first wife, Carlota Thorkildsen, who was 9 years his senior. They began living together after his childhood friend Gertrud Meyer moved to the USA in 1939, and they married in 1941.
Carlota Thorkildsen. Approximately 1940. Photo: Willy-Brandt-Archiv im AdsD, Bonn / willy-brandt-biografie.de
In 1940, even before their marriage, their daughter Nina Frahm was born. In 1944, when Willy Brandt was rehabilitating in Stockholm after a serious illness, he began an affair with Ruth Bergaust. The 23-year-old Norwegian woman helped with household chores in their apartment with Carlota and looked after their daughter Nina. Despite Ruth being married and Carlota not wanting a divorce, the relationship became public by the summer of 1944.
The final break with Carlota occurred at the turn of 1944/45, when she and her daughter left their shared apartment. The official divorce was finalized in 1948.
Willy Brandt with his daughter Nina and wife Carlota Thorkildsen in Stockholm. 1944. Photo: Willy-Brandt-Archiv im AdsD, Bonn / willy-brandt-biografie.de
In the same year, 1948, Brandt married Ruth Bergaust — also a Norwegian who shared his convictions. She moved with him to Berlin and remained by his side during the most difficult years. They had three sons — Peter, Lars, and Matthias. However, politics took up all of Brandt's time and energy: his family saw him mainly during official events and photo shoots.
Willy Brandt (center) and Ruth Bergaust. Berlin. June 1947. Photo: Bundesregierung / willy-brandt-biografie.de
Relations with his eldest son Peter were especially strained; Peter became an active participant in the student movement in 1968 and did not share his father's compromising political views.
Willy Brandt with his son Peter. 1949. Photo: Archiv der sozialen Demokratie, Bonn / willy-brandt-biografie.de
The marriage with Ruth was officially dissolved in 1980, and, according to sources, they saw each other for the last time on the day of the divorce.
Even before the divorce, in April 1979, Willy Brandt moved to the city of Unkel with his then-life partner, historian and publicist Brigitta Seebacher, who was 33 years younger than the politician. Brandt and Seebacher married in late 1983, and this marriage lasted until his death.
Willy Brandt with his third wife Brigitta Seebacher. September 1985. Photo: AP Photo / Elke Bruhn-Hoffman
Even decades later, the topic of Willy Brandt's personal life remained sensitive.
Thus, in 2013, Der Spiegel magazine began an article about the chancellor with the thesis: "the first social democrat at the head of the FRG 'was overthrown by a list of women's names'." Brandt himself confirmed in the 1970s that during his chancellorship he had prolonged extramarital affairs.
Another "dark stain" on the politician's portrait is his cooperation with American military intelligence (CIC) in 1948-1952. In 2021, Der Spiegel published information from historian Thomas Boghardt, who claimed that Americans paid Brandt 250 marks monthly for data on the GDR and Soviet troops.
It was also claimed that he, along with another German journalist, received 200,000 German marks from the Americans in 1950 for the development of his political career.
And as Chancellor of the FRG in 1972, he signed the odious "Radicals' Decree" (Radikalenerlass). It required that all candidates be checked for loyalty to the free democratic system before being hired for public service. Those who actively opposed this system (i.e., were considered "radicals") were prohibited from being hired as civil servants.
The law drew widespread criticism because the concept of "radical" was interpreted very generally and vaguely. A system of checks was established in the country, which included inquiries to the police and special services regarding a candidate's political affiliation. Although it was intended that exclusion from public service would apply to any "radical," in practice the law affected mainly leftist activists.
Willy Brandt with his 19-year-old son Matthias in Moscow. He visited the capital of the USSR at the personal invitation of Leonid Brezhnev. July 1, 1981. Photo: AP Photo
Despite all the contradictions and naivete regarding his spy assistant, Willy Brandt became for his nation a symbol of overcoming guilt and moral revival. His politics and personal courage to take responsibility even for others' mistakes taught Germans to believe in democracy. As Brandt once said: "Politics is impossible without empathy."
Already in the 21st century, the majority of citizens of unified Germany named Willy Brandt as a role model for a German politician. His gesture in Warsaw became a key moment in the nation's history, now honored, among other things, on a two-euro coin.
Willy Brandt. 1973. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
"It's good if I was able to do something so that my compatriots and my country became good neighbors for Europe," Brandt modestly remarked.
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