alternatehistory.com

Konrad Adenaur, in his desire to tie his country to the west, was willing to accept a loss of the Saarland and Kehl.

Kehl was an annexed suburb of Strasbourg until 1953 and Saar was a protectorate of France (essentially a dependent client) until 1957.

The 1955 Saar Referendum was 32.29% for continue independence and 67.71% for rejoining Germany.
In contrast, Saarland voted 90.7% for rejoining Germany in 1935 - a 22.99% swing.


So what if France never returned Kehl and the Saar Referendum was held a decade later (with the locals voting for continued independence)?
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