In the SPD–FDP coalition, Genscher helped shape Brandt's policy of deescalation with the communist East, commonly known as Ostpolitik, which was continued under chancellor Helmut Schmidt after Brandt's resignation in 1974. He would later be a driving factor in continuing this policy in the new conservative-liberal coalition under Helmut Kohl.
In the SPD–FDP coalition, Genscher helped shape Brandt's policy of deescalation with the communist East, commonly known as Ostpolitik, which was continued under chancellor Helmut Schmidt after Brandt's resignation in 1974. He would later be a driving factor in continuing this policy in the new conservative-liberal coalition under Helmut Kohl.