German political foundations, which are the richest and most active in Europe, often serve as a reference to their counterparts and to think tanks in other countries. The history of these foundations is linked to the Cold War, as they were commissioned by the German government – from the 1950s onwards – to intervene in Africa and Latin America in order to fight “communist influences” in these regions. They subsequently expanded their activities in Asia, Europe and the United States. Having ties to the political parties represented in the Bundestag, political foundations maintain an informal dialogue with elites from over a hundred countries. Paradoxically, while they like to appear as independent or even private foundations, they are almost entirely financed by public funds. This book traces back the emergence of these para-diplomatic organisations. It analyses their internationalisation strategies, focusing on Central-East European countries (particularly Poland). It analyses the way in which, owing to their double roots – in the German political field and in foreign policy administration – the foundations have become major actors of German foreign policy. The empirical work is based on 140 interviews and on the analysis of numerous archives. The book sheds new light on German foreign policy, international democracy assistance, transnational party cooperation and the EU Eastern enlargement.