The question of German unity was the most important and intractable problem to remain unsettled after World War II. It was also one of the least understood and, ultimately, one of the most important issues determining the political stability of the globe at the end of the twentieth century. W. R. Smyser explores "the German Question" and uses it to illustrate the story of how Germany was divided and then united against a background of global events and a continuing search for stable peace in an area that has not known it since the age of Charlemagne. Focusing on the personalities who controlled Germany's fate--FDR, Churchill, Stalin, De Gaulle, Adenauer, Kennedy, Brandt, Reagan, Bush, Gorbachev, Kohl and others--Smyser creates a masterful and engaging portrait of a country that has played a pivotal role in the history of the twentieth century.