Lukas Paul Schmelter re-examines the debate over West German Ostpolitik, focusing on Franz Josef Strauss and his approach to foreign policy in the 1960s and early 1970s. He argues that Strauss’ opposition to Brandt’s eastern policy was incited by an alternative strategic concept, centred on European federal union, political integration, and a Europeanised response to détente and the German question. Drawing on archival research, Opposing Ostpolitik situates Strauss within the wider history of Cold War strategy, European integration, and the contested future direction of the Federal Republic.