Bilingual signs in the Alsace area

Bilingual signs in the Alsace area Introduction The focus of this essay is on the bilingual signs in the Alsace area. The Alsace, like all of France, is officially monolingual. Even so, in towns such as Strasbourg, Mulhouse/Mà ¼hlhausen or Colmar bilingual street signs have been noticed. Interest in German and Alsatian dialects, repressed until the 1970s, has recently increased. However it may be too late as Alsatian is no longer widely spoken by younger generations. Alsatian may be relegated to an antiquarian curiosity and as such is no longer a threat to French nationalism. This essay presents some primary data in the form of photographs of street signs and demonstrates that there is a pattern to these signs. Bilingual signage only appears in the historic centre, where outside of this the signs are monolingual. Therefore installing street name signs in both French and Alsatian/German may be a tourist draw rather than a genuine attempt to increase the awareness of the language. Bilingual Signs The linguistic landscape is defined as the signs on buildings and shops, road signs, street names and advertising billboards within a geographical territory, which serve the function of conveying information and also a symbolic function (Cenoz Gorter, 2006; Landry Bourhis, 1997). The symbolic function that is served is to promote the language and thus the identity of a minority. Where in previous generations, the dominant culture would obliterate the language of a minority culture living within its confines, either deliberately or simply due to a lack of concern, in the current multicultural climate, minorities are celebrated. Sohamy (2006) refers to language battles taking place between top-down and bottom-up approaches. The top-down approach is from government, public or economic facilities, where bottom-up is when those of an autonomous status such as local business and private citizens initiate the action. These two approaches interact and this is where Sohamy suggests that the battles for control arise. In terms of bilingual signage, these battles would be fought on the linguistic landscape with shop signs being in one language and road signs being in another for instance, or road signs being bilingual and shop signs monolingual. The appearance of language in the public space serves as an important mechanism through which language battlesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ take place. Thus, the public place serves as a tool in the hands of different groups for the transmission of messages as to the place of different languages in the geographical and political entities and for influencing and creating de facto language realities. (Sohamy, 2006, p.111) These battles may erupt into criminal behaviour such as the defacing of road signs where the language which is considered unacceptable is obliterated (Chen, 2007). These are civil disobedience actions by people with national pride and pride in their language as a symbol of their nationality, and these actions would be the result of a bottom-up process. In Wales the focus has shifted in recent decades from bottom-up actions like these to a top-down process whereby the government and all official signs must legally be bilingual. A bottom-up protest in Wales now would be a monolingual English sign erected by a shopkeeper who does not wish to pay for translation services. The impact of the bilingual signage in Wales is that drivers take longer to read the sign than if it were monolingual in their dominant language (Jamson, 2004). However, even with this safety concern, and given that there are no longer any Welsh speakers who do not also speak English, it remains politically expedient to oblige all official signs to be bilingual in Welsh and English rather than monolingual English (Merriman Jones, 2008). Thus Wales is officially a bilingual country with a unique history of language activism. The Welsh language has a much stronger position than other minority European languages such as Basque. The Welsh bilingual signs are no longer designed to be quaint or attract ethnic tourism as they may have been in the past (Pitchford, 1995). Other minority European language speakers may still be patronised in this way and have looked to Wales as a model for challenging this attitude. The Alsace Context The Alsace is an historically disputed geographical area between France and Germany. It is an area of linguistic contact between the two dominant languages French and German, and has a unique and complex history of cultural conflict, military occupation and political domination (Kegel, 2003). Since the fifth century AD when the area was occupied by two Germanic tribes, German dialects have been spoken in this area. The Vosges mountain range to the West have served to isolate the population from the French and kept Alsace on the German side of the Germanic-Romance language border. Even when Alsace was officially French it has been easier to travel to Germany rather than into France as recently as the 1970s (Rademaekers, 1973). During the 70s Alsatians had access to television channels from both France and Germany. Most Alsatians at that time spoke both French and German and 80% also spoke Alsatian (Hessini, 1979). However in recent years there has been a decline in use and it is repor ted that younger generations do not speak Alsatian (Bister-Broosen, 2002). French is the state language, is used in education and officialdom, and parents are reluctant for their children to miss learning French as a native tongue due to this prestige. As languages, French and German are considered to be mutually exclusive, French being a Romance language. Alsatian is a Germanic dialect, derived from the Alemanni who settled in the area in the fifth century, and is understood to be German with French borrowings (Hessini, 1979). In fact it has been seen that there are appreciable differences between the dialects in different areas of Alsace and Lorraine, although the whole area is said to speak Alsatian (Judge, 2000). Alsatian was never a written language; Gutenbergs printing press in 1440 precipitated the standardisation of written German. The dialect that was chosen to be the written German was the one considered to be most easily understood by all Germanic dialect speakers. This then became the official and prestige German language and other dialects dwindled. German is the literary medium for the unstandardized Alsatian dialect (Hessini, 1979). The region of the Alsace has changed allegiance or been invaded numerous times through wars between France and Germany, and always seems to be on the losing side (Rademaekers, 1973). Between 1870 and 1945, the Alsace experienced five different changes of nationality, each of which required a change of official language (Vassberg, 1993). It has been French since the end of the Second World War and although Alsatian as a language has more in common with German than with French, as a French province, French has been the official language and Alsatian has been repressed until the 1970s. For example, French educational authorities have forbidden the teaching of German-language courses in Strasbourg primary schools. (Rademaekers, 1973, online). France has become more multicultural in recent years, with bilingual education being introduced, however there is a strong historical context for this monolingualism which stems back to the time of the French Revolution: a nation state which built itself on the principle of one language, one nation. This has meant that all citizens must share the same language in order to be equal before the law; plurality of languages or dialects was felt to be a threat to the cohesion of the nation and for two centuries linguistic policies were based on the elimination of dialects. (Hà ©lot, 2003, p.255) Thus the elimination of Alsatian has been a deliberate policy of French government. In recent years attitudes have changed due to the acknowledgement that learning a second language while young will enhance a childs educational prospects and later their employment prospects (Hà ©lot, 2003; Judge, 2000). However it may well be too late for Alsatian to continue to exist as a language in its own rig ht. If it is no longer spoken, then it will be doomed to become something quaint and old-fashioned, only reeled out for specific purposes (Bister-Broosen, 2002). Alsatian as a spoken language is used on some radio and television, but in all written formats, e.g. education and newspapers, German is used in its place (Judge, 2000). There has not been political language activism in the Alsace in the same way as there has been in other European countries, such as Wales described above. In the 1970s there existed a small-scale group Front de lAlsace libre and there now exists an Alsace dAbord movement which promotes bilingualism on all levels (Judge, 2000). However this is also a small movement and is described as an extreme right-wing movement playing the regionalist card to gain support (Judge, 2000). The supremacy of French in France continues to be absolute, and has been confirmed by Article 2 of the new Constitution of 22 June 1992. This article states that the language of the Republic shall be French. Elected regional authorities use only French. However they do now provide financial aid for the teaching of standard German in Alsace and in 1993 set up the Office rà ©gional du bilinguisme dAlsace (Regional Office for Bilingualism in Alsace). Public and semi-public services are provided solely in French, this includes telephone bills and receipts, telephone directories, hospital signs, electricity bills, post-office and police-station signs (Euromosaic, 2009). Oral communication between the authorities and the public is generally in French, as public employees tend not to be natives of Alsace. In common with other areas in Europe, there is a great deal of geographical movement and there are many other languages spoken in this area not only French, German and Alsatian, including non-European languages. Primary Source Analysis Street Signs in Strasbourg Street signage in Strasbourg has since 1991 begun to be bilingual in French and German. As has been previously mentioned, Alsatian has no written form, and standard German is used in its place, therefore on street signs it would be difficult to distinguish whether they are Alsatian or German as both are the same when it comes to written format. Bilingual signs are also seen in other Alsatian towns such as Mulhouse/Mà ¼hlhausen or Colmar. However, this analysis will concentrate on Strasbourg. On analysis of these street signs, their location and purpose, it might be said that the sign makers are paying lip-service to Alsatian rather than a genuine attempt to reinstate the language. This primary source analysis will begin with street name signs in the historic centre of Strasbourg and will move on to general road signs around Strasbourg for comparison, and signs for the river Rhine. It will then move on to a discussion of the use of bilingual signs, including their patterns and prevalence and opinions on their use. Bilingual Street Name Signs in the Centre of Strasbourg Figure 1 Katzegass (source http://www.lexiophiles.com/english/france-%E2%80%93-belgium-bilingual-road-signs) In Strasbourg, an important and historic street Rue Du Chat (Cat Street) is also signed as Katzegass. It can be seen from the photograph in Figure 1 that the French sign is clearly older than the Alsatian/German. Both in style and condition, the French is seen to be the original with the newer German sign placed above. Figure 2 Isernemannsplatz (source http://www.grenzen.150m.com/strasbourgGB.htm) Another historic street in Strasbourgs tourist centre is Place De LHomme De Fer (Iron Mans Square). Figure 2 is a photograph of the two new signs that have replaced the old monolingual sign, the aperture clearly visible beneath the two signs. In this case, both new signs have been produced in the same style although different lettering is used. The French is in capitals and is placed above the Alsatian/German which is in italic script. This photograph was taken in 2001. Road Sign Examples Figure 3 Arrival to Strasbourg on the French side (source http://www.grenzen.150m.com/strasbourgGB.htm) Figure 3 is a photograph of a monolingual French sign Communautà © Urbaine de Strasbourg (literally translated as Urban Community of Strasbourg or City of Strasbourg). This photograph was taken in 2001 on the French side of Strasbourg, on entering the city. Figure 4 Arrival to Strasbourg on the German side (source http://www.grenzen.150m.com/strasbourgGB.htm) Figure 4 depicts a monolingual German sign on arrival to Kehl, a district of Strasbourg on the German side, and Figure 5 is a photograph of a monolingual German sign leaving Kehl and travelling through Strasbourg towards France. Comparison of Figure 3, 4 and 5 demonstrates that directional signs in Strasbourg are monolingual French on the side nearer to France and German on the side nearer to Germany. Figure 5 Leaving Kehl towards France (source http://www.grenzen.150m.com/strasbourgGB.htm) Signs for the River Rhine Figure 6 Leaving Strasbourg (source http://www.grenzen.150m.com/strasbourgGB.htm) Leaving Strasbourg, a monolingual French sign indicating le Rhin (the Rhine river) is depicted in Figure 6. And Figure 7 depicts a German sign for Rhein the same river but seen from the German side. Figure 7 Leaving Strasbourg near the Europabrà ¼cke (source http://www.grenzen.150m.com/strasbourgGB.htm) Therefore it can be seen in comparing Figures 6 and 7, that signs for the river are monolingual in French or German depending on which side of the river is being signposted, rather than being bilingual. Patterns and Prevalence of Bilingual Signs Strictly speaking, Figure 1 and Figure 2 are not images of true bilingual signs, they are both images of two monolingual signs placed together. However due to the close proximity of these signs, and due to the fact that there are no true bilingual signs to be found, i.e. two languages on one sign, these will be classed as bilingual signage in this analysis. From these seven images it can clearly be seen that in signage other than street names, the signs in the Strasbourg area are monolingual. Given the cultural and historical significance of the Rhine river, it may be expedient to use bilingual signage for this, however as these photographs (taken in 2001) indicate, this has not been the case. It appears that the only examples of bilingual signage to be found in Strasbourg are in the historic centre, which may be considered the most tourist-visited area. Thus the patterns of signs in this region appear to be German on the side of the city nearer to Germany and French on the side nearer to the rest of France. This includes road signs for the towns and areas and for the river. In the centre there is bilingual signage for the street names. Opinions on Bilingual Signs People do not believe that the French government will promote the use of German. For instance there is little funding available for research projects into German in French universities. There is little encouragement to use written or spoken German in public life; there is little acknowledgement of German as contributing to Frances cultural richness. People are discouraged from giving their children names that are too German although proper names and place names have remained in their traditional correct German form (Euromosaic, 2009). Public notices, door signs, hospital signs, school and trade signs are all in French. As can be seen from this primary source analysis, monolingual German road signs are only evident on the German side of the city. Euromosaic (2009) reports that a number of Commune authorities in France have begun to install bilingual street signs and that these usually appear in historic town centres. This is reportedly due to public pressure, and in Strasbourg this pressure group is referred to as Action-Pirate. The appearance of these signs in historic tourist areas appears to be a salve to indicate government support of a language that no longer presents a challenge to the dominant language of the state. If it is limited to use on street name signs, it become folklorique and antiquarian. It may be the equivalent of the English Ye Olde Teashoppe signs which are understood to be a reference to cultural history rather than a genuine attempt to reinstate a dead form of the language. This may be a cynical view, however with no evidence of bilingual signage outside of these tourist areas, as might be seen in a true bilingual country such as Wales, it is clear that the French authorities are making no effort to support the use of Alsatian in the Alsace. Instead it appears that the language is used as a gimmick to attract ethnic tourism. Conclusion This essay has analysed the prevalence and patterns of bilingual signs in Strasbourg. It has been seen that bilingual signage only appears in the historic centre, where outside of this the signs are monolingual. The conclusion drawn from this is that these signs form a gimmick to be used as a tourist draw. These signs are top down in Sohamys (2006) mechanism, and have a purpose other than simply naming the street. As part of the linguistic landscape, they point to the cultural history of the space rather than being needed for directional purposes.

Kohlberg’s Moral Judgment Model

The focus of Lawrence Kohlberg’s Moral Judgment Model is to investigate and assess how the concept or consciousness about morality arises and what constitutes this perception about morality. He provides six stages of development which explains how a child obtains and develops his own idea of moral action. When a child experiences a dilemma in which he or she must be able to come up with a particular decision and actualize it, Kohlberg tells that the child’s judgment could be explain through his model. The first three stages are crucial for the reason that the child’s response is dependent on his or her initial orientation on morality. The first stage explains that a child’s response might be based on the idea of obedience and punishment. The child would act in such a way that he or she obeys what the immediate authority imposes to him or her (e. g. rules set in the house or in the school). The right action for the child would be if he or she is able to follow the rules which would also make him or her free from any form of punishment. The child would assert that he or she must not such and such acts to prevent being punished. The second stage is when the child realizes that his or her actions, whatever they are, have equivalent consequences. If he or she would act like this for the benefit or harm of others he or she might think that the same thing would be done for or against him or her. In short, his or her actions would be based on how he or she perceives the result of his or her actions which is still directed towards his or her own interests. The third stage explains that the child in this period learns that it is not all about him or her or not always geared towards his or her own satisfaction. In this stage, the child becomes conscious about how others perceive him or her. Thus, his or her actions are not just dependent on what he or she likes but also on how others would see him or her as a moral person. The child would think that â€Å"I ought not to tell a lie because others will see me as a bad person for doing so. † In short, the concept of conventional morality starts at this point.

The Portrayal of Women in Joseph Conrads Heart of...

Women have gained equality with men over the many centuries of the evolution of the modern western civilization. Hence, it cannot be overlooked that there still exist many literary examples of social disregard for woman potential. Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness exemplifies the Western patriarchal gender roles in which women are given the inferior status.p Not only are women portrayed as being inferior to men, but Marlows (the protagonists) seldom mentioning of them in his Congo adventure narrative symbolizes his view of their insignificance. There is a total of five women presented in Marlows narrative but only three of them are significant minor characters: Marlows aunt, Kurtzs African mistress, and Kurtzs Intended. The†¦show more content†¦She appears to be a greedy soul that wants a family member of hers to become wealthy through terrorizing and robbing innocent citizens of country for their valuable possession; ivory. From her perspective, the noble cause was as she pu t it weaning those ignorant millions from their horrid ways. It is hard to comprehend how she knows the natives of Congo to be horrible people without personally interacting with them. This talk from his aunt actually makes Marlow feel uncomfortable since he later learns that his aunt and the rest of the British are the truly ignorant millions, and not the natives of Congo. The next mentioning of a female character in Heart of Darkness is that of Kurtzs Intended. Since Marlows interaction with her comes at the end of the story, Kurts African mistress is the next female character Marlow encounters upon reaching the Inner Station. Her first appearance is when the ill Kurtz is being taken aboard the steamboat and with body remarks to her, Marlows Russian counterpart describes her as being mischievous. Marlows choice of words to describe the mistress contrasts this. 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Cold War Timeline

The Cold War was fought in the aftermath of World War Two, from the collapse of the wartime alliance between the Anglo-American led Allies and the USSR to the collapse of the USSR itself, with the most common dates for these identified as 1945 to 1991. Of course, like most historical events, the seeds from which the war grew were planted much earlier, and this timeline starts with the creation of the world’s first Soviet nation in 1917. Pre-World War Two 1917 †¢Ã‚  October: Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. 1918-1920 †¢Ã‚  Unsuccessful Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War. 1919 †¢Ã‚  March 15: Lenin creates the Communist International (Comintern) to promote international revolution. 1922 †¢Ã‚  December 30: Creation of the USSR. 1933 †¢Ã‚  United States begins diplomatic relations with USSR for the first time. World War Two 1939 †¢Ã‚  August 23: Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact (‘Non-Aggression Pact): Germany and Russia agree to divide Poland. †¢Ã‚  September: Germany and Russia invade Poland. 1940 †¢Ã‚  June 15 – 16: USSR occupies Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania citing security concerns. 1941 †¢Ã‚  June 22: Operation Barbarossa begins: the German invasion of Russia. †¢Ã‚  November: US begins lend-lease to USSR. †¢Ã‚  December 7: Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor causing the US to enter the war. †¢Ã‚  December 15 – 18: Diplomatic mission to Russia reveals Stalin hopes to recover gains made in the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact. 1942 †¢Ã‚  December 12: Soviet-Czech alliance agreed; Czechs agree to co-operate with the USSR after the war. 1943 †¢Ã‚  February 1: Siege of Stalingrad by Germany ends with Soviet victory. †¢Ã‚  April 27: USSR breaks off relations with Polish government-in-exile over arguments about the Katyn Massacre. †¢Ã‚  May 15: Comintern is closed to appease Soviet allies. †¢Ã‚  July: Battle of Kursk ends with Soviet victory, arguably the turning point of the war in Europe. †¢Ã‚  November 28 – December 1: Tehran Conference: Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill meet. 1944 †¢Ã‚  June 6: D-Day: Allied forces land successfully in France, opening a second front which liberates Western Europe before Russia needs to. †¢Ã‚  July 21: Having ‘liberated’ east Poland, Russia sets up the Committee of National Liberation in Lublin to govern it. †¢Ã‚  August 1 – October 2: Warsaw Uprising; Polish rebels attempt to overthrow Nazi rule in Warsaw; Red Army sits back and allows it to be crushed to destroy the rebels. †¢Ã‚  August 23: Romania signs armistice with Russia following their invasion; a coalition government is formed. †¢Ã‚  September 9: Communist coup in Bulgaria. †¢Ã‚  October 9 - 18: Moscow Conference. Churchill and Stalin agree percentage ‘spheres of influence’ in Eastern Europe. †¢Ã‚  December 3: Conflict between British and pro-Communist Greek forces in Greece. 1945 †¢Ã‚  January 1: USSR ‘recognises’ their communist puppet government in Poland as the provisional government; US and UK refuse to do so, preferring the exiles in London. †¢Ã‚  February 4-12: Yalta summit between Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin; promises are given to support democratically elected governments. †¢Ã‚  April 21: Agreements signed between newly ‘liberated’ communist Eastern nations and USSR to work together. †¢Ã‚  May 8: Germany surrenders; end of World War Two in Europe. Late 1940s 1945 †¢Ã‚  March: Communist-dominated coup in Romania. †¢Ã‚  July-August: Potsdam Conference between US, UK, and USSR. †¢Ã‚  July 5: US and UK recognize communist-dominated Polish government after it allows some members of the Government-in-exile to join. †¢Ã‚  August 6: The US drops the first atomic bomb, on Hiroshima. 1946 †¢Ã‚  February 22: George Kennan sends the Long Telegram advocating Containment. †¢Ã‚  March 5: Churchill gives his Iron Curtain Speech. †¢Ã‚  April 21: Social Unity Party formed in Germany on Stalin’s orders. 1947 †¢Ã‚  January 1: Anglo-American Bizone formed in Berlin, angers USSR. †¢Ã‚  March 12: Truman Doctrine announced. †¢Ã‚  June 5: Marshall Plan aid program Announced. †¢Ã‚  October 5: Cominform Founded to organize international communism. †¢Ã‚  December 15: London Foreign Ministers’ Conference breaks up without agreement. 1948 †¢Ã‚  February 22: Communist Coup in Czechoslovakia. †¢Ã‚  March 17: Brussels Pact Signed between UK, France, Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg to organize a mutual defense. †¢Ã‚  June 7: Six Power Conference recommends a West German Constituent Assembly. †¢Ã‚  June 18: New currency introduced in the Western Zones of Germany. †¢Ã‚  June 24: Berlin Blockade Begins. 1949 †¢Ã‚  January 25: Comecon, Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, created to organize Eastern bloc economies. †¢Ã‚  April 4: North Atlantic Treaty signed: NATO formed. †¢Ã‚  May 12: Berlin Blockade lifted. †¢Ã‚  May 23: ‘Basic Law’ approved for Federal Republic of Germany (FRG): Bizone merges with French zone to form a new state. †¢Ã‚  May 30: People’s Congress approves German Democratic Republic Constitution in East Germany. †¢Ã‚  August 29: USSR detonates the first atomic bomb. †¢Ã‚  September 15: Adenauer becomes first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. †¢Ã‚  October: The Communist People’s Republic of China proclaimed. †¢Ã‚  October 12: German Democratic Republic (GDR) formed in East Germany. 1950s 1950 †¢Ã‚  April 7: NSC-68 finalized in the US: advocates a more active, military, policy of containment and causes a large increase in defense spending. †¢Ã‚  June 25: Korean War begins. †¢Ã‚  October 24: Pleven Plan approved by France: rearmed West German soldiers to be part of a European Defence Community (EDC). 1951 †¢Ã‚  April 18: European Coal and Steel Community Treaty signed (The Schuman Plan). 1952 †¢Ã‚  March 10: Stalin proposes a united, but neutral, Germany; rejected by the West. †¢Ã‚  May 27: European Defence Community (EDC) treaty signed by Western nations. 1953 †¢Ã‚  March 5: Stalin dies. †¢Ã‚  June 16-18: Unrest in the GDR, suppressed by Soviet troops. †¢Ã‚  July: Korean War ends. 1954 †¢Ã‚  August 31: France rejects the EDC. 1955 †¢Ã‚  May 5: FRG becomes a sovereign state; joins NATO. †¢Ã‚  May 14: Eastern Communist nations sign the  Warsaw Pact, a military alliance. †¢Ã‚  May 15: State Treaty between forces occupying Austria: they withdraw and make it a neutral state. †¢Ã‚  September 20: GDR recognized as a sovereign state by USSR. FRG announces the  Hallstein Doctrine  in response. 1956 †¢Ã‚  February 25: Khrushchev begins  De-Stalinization  by attacking Stalin in a speech at 20th Party Congress. †¢Ã‚  June: Unrest in Poland. †¢Ã‚  October 23 – November 4: Hungarian Uprising crushed. 1957 †¢Ã‚  March 25: Treaty of Rome signed, creating the European Economic Community with the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. 1958 †¢Ã‚  November 10: Start of Second Berlin crisis: Khrushchev calls for a peace treaty with the two German states to settle borders and for Western nations to leave Berlin. †¢Ã‚  November 27: The Berlin Ultimatum issued by Khrushchev: Russia gives West six months to solve Berlin situation and withdraw their troops or it will hand East Berlin over to East Germany. 1959 †¢Ã‚  January: Communist government under Fidel Castro set up in Cuba. 1960s 1960 †¢Ã‚  May 1: USSR shoots down US U-2 spy plane over Russian territory. †¢Ã‚  May 16-17: Paris Summit closes after Russia pulls out over U-2 affair. 1961 †¢Ã‚  August 12/13:  Berlin Wall  built as east-west borders closed in Berlin and GDR. 1962 †¢Ã‚  October – November: The Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink of nuclear war. 1963 †¢Ã‚  August 5: Test Ban treaty between UK, USSR, and US limits nuclear testing. France and China reject it and develop their own weapons. 1964 †¢Ã‚  October 15: Khrushchev removed from power. 1965 †¢Ã‚  February 15: The US begins bombing of Vietnam; by 1966 400,000 US troops are in the country. 1968 †¢Ã‚  August 21-27: Crushing of Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia. †¢Ã‚  July 1: Non-Proliferation Treaty signed by UK, USSR, and US: agree not to assist non-signatories in gaining nuclear weapons. This treaty is the first evidence of  dà ©tente-era cooperation  during the Cold War.   †¢Ã‚  November:  Brezhnev Doctrine  Outlined. 1969 †¢Ã‚  September 28: Brandt becomes Chancellor of FRG, continues the policy of  Ostpolitik  developed from his position as Foreign Minister. 1970s 1970 †¢Ã‚  Start of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) between US and USSR. †¢Ã‚  August 12: USSR-FRG Moscow Treaty: both recognize each others territories and agree to only peaceful methods of border change. †¢Ã‚  December 7: Warsaw Treaty between FRG and Poland: both recognize each others territories, agree to only peaceful methods of border change and increased trade. 1971 †¢Ã‚  September 3: Four Power Treaty on Berlin between US, UK, France and USSR over access from West Berlin to FRG and relation of West Berlin to FRG. 1972 †¢Ã‚  May 1: SALT I treaty signed (Strategic Arms Limitations Talks). †¢Ã‚  December 21: Basic Treaty between FRG and GDR: FRG gives up Hallstein Doctrine, recognizes GDR as a sovereign state, both to have seats at UN. 1973 †¢Ã‚  June: Prague Treaty between FRG and Czechoslovakia. 1974 †¢Ã‚  July: SALT II negotiations begin. 1975 †¢Ã‚  August 1: Helsinki Agreement/Accord/’Final Act’ signed between US, Canada and 33 European States including Russia: states the ‘inviolability’ of frontiers, gives principles for state peaceful interaction, co-operation in economics and science as well as humanitarian issues. 1976 †¢Ã‚  Soviet SS-20 medium-range missiles stationed in Eastern Europe. 1979 †¢Ã‚  June: SALT II treaty signed; never ratified by the US Senate. †¢Ã‚  December 27: Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. 1980s 1980 †¢Ã‚  December 13: Martial law in Poland to crush the Solidarity movement. 1981 †¢Ã‚  January 20: Ronald Reagan becomes US President. 1982 †¢Ã‚  June: Start of START (Strategic Arms Reduction Talks) in Geneva. 1983 †¢Ã‚  Pershing and Cruise missiles placed in West Europe. †¢Ã‚  March 23: Announcement of the US ‘Strategic Defense Initiative’ or ‘Star Wars’. 1985 †¢Ã‚  March 12: Gorbachev becomes the leader of USSR. 1986 †¢Ã‚  October 2: USSR-USA summit at Reykjavik. 1987 †¢Ã‚  December: USSR-US summit as Washington: US and USSR agree to remove medium-range missiles from Europe. 1988 †¢Ã‚  February: Soviet troops begin to pull out of Afghanistan. †¢Ã‚  July 6: In a speech to the UN, Gorbachev repudiates the  Brezhnev Doctrine, encourages free elections and ends the Arms Race, in practice ending the Cold War; democracies emerge across Eastern Europe. †¢Ã‚  December 8: INF Treaty, includes removal of medium-range missiles from Europe. 1989 †¢Ã‚  March: Multi-candidate elections in the USSR. †¢Ã‚  June: Elections in Poland. †¢Ã‚  September: Hungary allows GDR ‘holidaymakers’ through the border with West. †¢Ã‚  November 9: Berlin Wall falls. 1990s 1990 †¢Ã‚  August 12: GDR announces a desire to merge with FRG. †¢Ã‚  September 12: Two Plus Four treaty signed by FRG, GDR. US, UK, Russia, and France cancels remaining rights of former occupying powers in FRG. †¢Ã‚  October 3: German Reunification. 1991 †¢Ã‚  July 1: START Treaty signed by US and USSR reducing nuclear weapons. †¢Ã‚  December 26: USSR dissolved.