With its policy oriented towards the east, the FRG had no reason not to establish official relations with communist Albania.
The problem was the political extremism of the leaders of the Stalinist regime in Albania.
The signing of German-Albanian diplomatic relations was a very important event for communist Albania at the time, although compared to most Western European countries, diplomatic relations between Albania and the then West Germany were very late.
With the policy oriented towards the east, West Germany, i.e. the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) had established diplomatic relations with the "people's republics" of Eastern Europe, and finally, in 1972, even with the German Democratic Republic.
The main problem – the political extremism of the Stalinist regime in Albania
Having diplomatic relations with the entire communist world, the FRG had no reason not to establish official relations with the People's Socialist Republic of Albania, writes DW. According to Robert Elsie, who was the translator of two delegations from Germany and Albania for the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in the 80s, the main problem for the delay was "the unpredictable attitude of the communist regime in Albania, i.e. the internal fluctuations of Albanian politics and the persistence and political extremism of the leaders of the Stalinist regime in Albania." However, Elsie adds, "we also have to admit that Germany did not show any special interest in Albania, a small, very backward country with no geopolitical or economic interest."
The problem of reparations and reparations
A main obstacle to the connection of relations between the People's Socialist Republic of Albania, as it was the official name at that time, was the request of the Albanian side for the payment of reparations and compensations for war damages from the Federal Republic of Germany.
But the FRG government had no leeway in this matter because of the London Agreement on Germany's Foreign Debt. In this agreement between representatives of the Federal Republic of Germany and several winning states concluded on February 27, 1953, the FRG government was prohibited from treating different states differently.
The lack of diplomatic relations with the Federal Republic of Germany was a recurring theme in the speeches of Enver Hoxha, who emphasized that "the Government of Bonn.... he owes Albania reparations and damages worth billions of marks."
But this attitude was not limited to statements or speeches. On July 1, 1975, the then Albanian ambassador in Belgrade handed over to his German counterpart there, Jesco von Puttkamer, a memorandum of the Albanian government demanding reparations in the amount of 4,5 billion dollars.
Change of situation in the 80s
Albania was the only European country that did not sign the Helsinki Agreement of 1975. However, in general, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it was no longer acceptable for two European countries not to have at least official diplomatic relations. On the other hand, the political climate in Albania had changed somewhat, because after the breakdown of the alliance with China in 1978, Albania was left without allies and - even more important - without economic aid.
Elsie says that "The policy of extreme isolation had damaged the development of the Albanian economy, and the regime began to show some interest in strengthening relations with Western European countries to compensate for the Yugoslav, Soviet, and Chinese aid. Albania's few mainly agricultural products also needed the German market."
For this reason, after the VIII Congress of the Party (November 1981), Enver Hoxha said that between the People's Socialist Republic of Albania and the Federal Republic of Germany, there did not seem to be insurmountable obstacles for establishing bilateral relations.
Talks in Belgrade, Bonn and Vienna
Until the beginning of the 80s, the talks with the diplomats of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for the possible connection of diplomatic relations took place through the Albanian embassy in Belgrade. But they always remained fruitless because of the issue of reparations.
In February 1980, the Albanian government announced that it had assigned its ambassador to Vienna, to further discuss the issue of reparations and relations with the FRG. The Foreign Ministry of the FRY stated that it agreed with this change of location, because, as stated in the official documents, "The Albanian Embassy in Vienna was both from a consular and political point of view responsible for covering the Federal Republic of Germany."
Premise to establish diplomatic relations
In February 1982, the Albanian side submitted to the German side through the Albanian Embassy in Vienna a memorandum in which it was said, that "we are seeing that the government of Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and Vice-Chancellor Hans-Dietrich Genscher are following a positive policy and that the party and the government of Albania had come to the conclusion that "now the premises have been created to establish diplomatic relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the People's Socialist Republic of Albania."
On April 26-27, 1984, a delegation from Albania stayed in Bonn to address the issue of starting talks on diplomatic relations. These talks were followed in August 1984 by a private visit to Albania by the prime minister of the state of Bavaria, Franz Josef Strauss, who was one of the first Western politicians, who talked in Tirana with the then deputy prime minister, Manush Mufti.
View from the official German-Albanian talks in Austria
Official talks began six months later and took place in Austria - a neutral country where Albania also had an embassy - on November 8-9, 1984. At this time, the new ambassador of Albania in Vienna was appointed Idriz Bardhi, who played a role of important in advancing the talks between the two sides for the opening of negotiations on the establishment of diplomatic relations.
Dinner in luxury hotels and restaurants
Robert Elsie remembers that the German delegation was led by Gerold von Braunmühl, while the representatives of the Albanian delegation were Sofokli Lazri, Engjëll Kolaneci and Anton Bërxholli. "Although the talks were very secretive, there was a somewhat festive atmosphere. Apart from the talks, I remember receptions and dinners in the most luxurious and expensive hotels and restaurants in Vienna. Mr. von Braunmühl was surprised that the Albanian side was spending so much money to represent itself as a supposedly prosperous European country, after I had explained to him privately that the standard of living in Albania was more like Africa than Europe."
The talks that lasted for several years were crowned with the signing of the Agreement on the Connection of Diplomatic Relations on September 15, 1987 in Tirana. After approval by both governments, diplomatic relations at the level of ambassadors started on October 2, 1987. Three weeks later, on October 23, 1987, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hans-Ditrich Gensher, stayed in Albania for a six-year official visit.