This paper was presented at the PASSIA Seminar on German-Palestinian relations and lays down a framework for analysis of German foreign policy in the 1980s. Background taken into consideration includes the history of the Third Reich, Adenauer’s foreign policy in the 1950s-60s, the policies of the Social Democratic Party (1969-81), and the blending of German and EEC foreign policy. EEC decisions following the October War in 1973 and the oil crisis of the 1970s are also discussed.