West-östlicher Kulturaustausch: Der Schmale Steg
West_Eastern Cultural Exchange: The Slender Bridge

Summary/Abstract: In his introductory article, Klaus Mehnert describes the origin and development of the West's cultural relations with the East, concentrating mainly on those with the USSR. Both sides, he maintains, want the cultural exchange, otherwise they would have stopped it long ago; but their interests are quite different: While the USSR sends mainly representatives of the engineering and natural sciences, the West is chiefly represented by social scientists and scholars of the humanities. The USSR is eager to obtain technical know-how, the West wants to know more about the USSR. The USSR is afraid of the influence of Western thinking, the West does not wish to build up the Soviet war potential. The Geneva conference on European security should serve as a forum for negotiations on East- West cultural relations which still leave much to be desired.

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