Too bad that they started it as well.
You're right, their dictature chose the "best" end of the stick anytime : German side at the beginning, Alies in the end. I don't think the people chose to go on war. Not more than English people chose to send soldiers in Irak, or French in Afghanistan...
Anyway, Russian is an aviation language, but I'm not sure that was THE aviation language in DDR...
As for Air France and their manuals, I suspect a move from the union to avoid KLM pilots to replace AFR pilots in the French fleet. (Just a guess.)
Exactly the same as English speaking pilots wanting everyone to speak English : for safety reasons...
