The German–Polish Border Treaty of 1990 finally settled the issue of the
Polish–German border, which in terms of international law had been pending since 1945. It was signed by the foreign ministers of Poland and Germany,
Krzysztof Skubiszewski and
Hans-Dietrich Genscher
Hans-Dietrich Genscher (21 March 1927 – 31 March 2016) was a German statesman and a member of the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), who served as Federal Minister of the Interior from 1969 to 1974, and as Federal Minister for Foreign Affa ...
, on 14 November 1990 in
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
, ratified by the Polish on 26 November 1991 and the German on 16 December 1991, and entered into force with the exchange of the instruments of ratification on 16 January 1992.
Historical background

In the
Potsdam Agreement
The Potsdam Agreement () was the agreement among three of the Allies of World War II: the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union after the war ended in Europe that was signed on 1 August 1945 and published the following day. A ...
of 1945, the Allies of World War II had defined the
Oder–Neisse line
The Oder–Neisse line (, ) is an unofficial term for the Germany–Poland border, modern border between Germany and Poland. The line generally follows the Oder and Lusatian Neisse rivers, meeting the Baltic Sea in the north. A small portion ...
as the line of demarcation between the
Soviet occupation zone
The Soviet occupation zone in Germany ( or , ; ) was an area of Germany that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a communist area, established as a result of the Potsdam Agreement on 2 August 1945. On 7 October 1949 the German Democratic Republ ...
in Germany and Poland, pending the final determination of Poland's western frontier in a later peace settlement. This transferred extensive regions to Poland, some of which had been under
German control for centuries, reducing Germany to approximately three quarters of the territory as of 1937. The
Treaty of Zgorzelec
The Treaty of Zgorzelec (Full title ''The Agreement Concerning the Demarcation of the Established and the Existing Polish-German State Frontier'', also known as the ''Treaty of Görlitz'' and ''Treaty of Zgorzelic'') between the People's Repub ...
of 1950 between
East Germany
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
and the
People's Republic of Poland
The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...
confirmed this border as final.
West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
, which saw itself as the only legal successor to the
German Reich
German ''Reich'' (, from ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty entirely from a continuing unitary German ''Volk'' ("na ...
and did not recognize East Germany, insisted that final settlement on the Polish–German border could only be accepted by a future reunited Germany. Although West Germany, for all practical purposes, accepted the Oder–Neisse border in the
Treaty of Warsaw (1970)
The Treaty of Warsaw (, ) was a treaty between the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the Polish People’s Republic. It was signed by Chancellor Willy Brandt and Prime Minister Józef Cyrankiewicz at the Presidential Palace on 7 ...
, its legal caveat that only a future peace treaty would formally settle the issue remained in effect.
With
German reunification
German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...
finally within reach in 1990, the Allies of World War II made full sovereignty for Germany conditional on the final recognition of the Oder–Neisse border, as stipulated in article 1.2 of the
Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany
The Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany (),
more commonly referred to as the Two Plus Four Agreement (),
is an international agreement that allowed the reunification of Germany in October 1990. It was negotiated in 1990 betwee ...
. The signing of a treaty between Germany and Poland recognizing the Oder–Neisse line as the border under international law was also one of the terms of the
Unification Treaty between West and East Germany that was signed and went into effect on 3 October 1990. Poland also wanted this treaty to end the ambiguity that had surrounded the border issue since 1945.
The Treaty
Under the terms of the treaty, the contracting parties
* reaffirmed the frontier according to the 1950 Treaty of Zgorzelec with its subsequent regulatory statutes and the 1970 Treaty of Warsaw;
* declared the frontier between them inviolable now and hereafter, and mutually pledged to respect their sovereignty and territorial integrity;
* declared that they have no territorial claims against each other and shall not raise such claims in the future.
The agreement was supplemented by a
Treaty of Good Neighbourship and Friendly Cooperation, signed between Poland and Germany on 17 June 1991.
In the ratification process at the Bundestag, the treaty met with 13 dissenting votes by deputies of the
CDU/
CSU faction, among them
Erika Steinbach and
Peter Ramsauer. In 2006 the Polish Foreign Minister
Anna Fotyga
Anna Elżbieta Fotyga (; ; born 12 January 1957) is a Polish politician who currently serves as a Member of the European Parliament, and is the Secretary-General of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party. She has served as Minister of ...
, responding to the compensation claims raised by the "
Prussian Trust" corporation, stated that the treaty was insufficient and may have to be renegotiated.
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:German-Polish Border Treaty (1990)
1990 in West Germany
1990 in Poland
Aftermath of the Revolutions of 1989
History of Poland (1989–present)
Germany–Poland border
Treaties concluded in 1990
Treaties entered into force in 1992
Boundary treaties
German reunification
History of Germany–Poland relations
Treaties of Germany
Treaties of Poland