Despite their sometimes significant differences of opinion on European and NATO policy, Konrad Adenauer and Charles de Gaulle were able to decisively advance the cause of German-French reconciliation through the Elysée Treaty, the conclusion of which was attributable in no small measure to two men’s mutal trust and personal friendship. Already in September 1958, Adenauer had been the first—and only—official foreign guest invited to de Gaulle’s country estate in Colombey-les-deux-Églises. Shortly before his resignation in October 1963, Adenauer (left) made a farewell trip to France, where, in an unusual departure from protocol, President de Gaulle (right) met him at the airport. Photographer unknown.