Yom Kippur

On October 6, 1973 - on the Jewish high holiday of Yom Kippur, the day of atonement and reconciliation - Egyptian and Syrian forces attack Israel. The fourth Israeli-Arab war (the Yom Kippur war) breaks out. Israel is in serious military difficulties.

In addition to their armies the Arab states deploy a new political weapon: oil. The Arab oil-exporting countries decide to restrict their petroleum deliveries until the Israeli-occupied territories are freed and the "rights of the Palestinian nation" are restored. In addition, the Arab countries, which control the major part of the oil market, impose a severe increase in oil prices. A delivery boycott for petroleum is imposed on the US and the Netherlands. The Western industrial countries, which rely on imports of this raw material, are thereby to be placed under pressure to cease their support of Israel.

The economy of the West European countries and of many other industrial nations faces a serious situation. Petroleum, in adequate supply and cheaply available, is an extraordinarily important factor of production. The population, not least in the Federal Republic, becomes painfully aware of the fact that energy is a scarce commodity (the "Oil shock"). As an immediate measure to conserve energy, the government under Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt orders four "car-free Sundays" and various speed limit restrictions for automobile traffic. "Speed limit 100" becomes a temporary reality on the German Federal highways (Autobahnen).

The substantial increase in energy prices is one of the causes of the worldwide economic crisis that breaks out in 1974/75. In 1972, the Federal Republic has only about 20,000 registered unemployed (full employment). Beginning in 1974 the number of unemployed rises sharply.

In the Federal Republic and in other industrial countries the recognition is emerging that the energy supply can be ensured in the long run only if considerable efforts are undertaken to develop new sources of energy, particularly nuclear energy, and to use existing sources of energy more economically (energy conservation).