In contemporary European history some questions about the alleged "special way" of the Germans resurface constantly: the answers change. Germany is the country that more than any other has marked the process of European integration, suffering it in the early stages, but molding it and having benefits in the long run. The book reconstructs the European policy of the Federal Republic of Germany in the years 1949-1966, since the birth of the European Coal and Steel Community to the "empty chair crisis", highlighting the continuities and the changes. It is at this stage that we have the transformation of the West Germans from the subject of the decisions of others into a protagonist in international relations. Among all stands the figure of Konrad Adenauer, one of the most representative actors of the Cold War time.

The author proposes an interpretation of the articulated phenomenon of the Germans' Europe, while providing the historical coordinates to understand how, but also to what extent, Germany was able to return to play a leading role on the European and international scene.