The Wanfried Agreement (German: ''Wanfrieder Abkommen'') concerned a transfer of territory between the U.S. and
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
occupation zones
Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and France ...
after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in
Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, which took place after the determination of the main
inner German border
The inner German border (german: Innerdeutsche Grenze or ; initially also ) was the border between the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West Germany) from 1949 to 1990. Not including the ...
at the end of July 1945.
In the U.S. zone the
Bebra–Göttingen railway line, which linked with lines to the cities of
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
,
Hannover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...
and
Bebra
Bebra () is a small town in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany.
Geography Location
Bebra lies some south of Kassel on the Fulda. The town is easy to find on most maps thanks to its prominent location on the ''Fuldaknie'' ...
cut across a small (~ 3 km / 2 mi) portion of the Soviet zone near
Neuseesen and
Werleshausen
Werleshausen is a village in the northern part of Hesse, Germany. First recorded mention was in 876. Since 1972 it belongs to the town of Witzenhausen.
Location
The village of Werleshausen lies in the Werra valley near the Hoher Meißner, right o ...
(
Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and larg ...
). This situation caused disruptions of traffic on the line, which was important to the U.S. as a link between its occupation zone in southern Germany and a small U.S.-controlled
exclave
An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
at the port of
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany.
It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...
on the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
.
On September 17, 1945, an agreement was signed in the town of
Wanfried
Wanfried is a town in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in northeasternmost Hesse, Germany. It is classified as a ''Landstadt'', a designation given in Germany to a municipality that is officially a town (''Stadt''), but whose population is below 5,000. It ...
between the American and Soviet authorities moving the border to resolve the problem. After the agreement was concluded, the participating officers exchanged flasks of
whisky
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden c ...
and
vodka
Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuritie ...
, and from then on the railway line was known jokingly in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
as the ''Whisky-Wodka-Linie''.
Brigadier General
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
William T. Sexton,
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
, signed the Wanfried agreement for the United States, while
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Vasily S. Askalepov signed for the Soviet Union.
The Hessian villages of
Asbach-Sickenberg
Asbach-Sickenberg is a municipality in the district of Eichsfeld, in Thuringia, Germany. As a result of the 1945 Wanfried agreement, formerly Hessian Asbach-Sickenberg became part of the Soviet occupation zone and the later German Democratic Rep ...
,
Vatterode, and
Weidenbach/
Hennigerode (Kreis Witzenhausen) with 429 inhabitants and 7.61 square kilometres of land fell in Soviet territory. The
Eichsfeld The Eichsfeld ( or ; English: ''Oak-field'') is a historical region in the southeast of the state of Lower Saxony (which is called "Untereichsfeld" = lower Eichsfeld) and northwest of the state of Thuringia ("Obereichsfeld" = upper Eichsfeld) in th ...
villages of Neuseesen and Werleshausen with 560 people and 8.45 square kilometres were transferred to the U.S. zone.
Although other such small exchanges took place afterwards on the inner-German border, only the Wanfried Agreement had the status of a
treaty
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations
An international organization or international o ...
between the occupying Powers, and is considered to have been on an equal footing with the
Potsdam Agreement
The Potsdam Agreement (german: Potsdamer Abkommen) was the agreement between three of the Allies of World War II: the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union on 1 August 1945. A product of the Potsdam Conference, it concerned th ...
.
References
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wanfried Agreement
Cold War treaties
Soviet Union–United States treaties
Treaties involving territorial changes
Treaties concluded in 1945