East Germany West Germany Agreement 1972

18. September 2021

The basic contract for relations, or the basic contract, as it was called, was signed in December 1972 by East and West Germany. Signed at the Ostpolitik and Detente summits, the treaty recognises the sovereignty of the two nations, restores diplomatic communication and paves the way for „good neighbourly relations“: after the entry into force of the 1971 Four Powers Agreement, the two German states began negotiations for a fundamental treaty. With regard to the 1972 Transit Agreement, the talks were conducted by State Secretaries Egon Bahr (for the Federal Republic of Germany) and Michael Kohl (for the German Democratic Republic). As part of Chancellor Willy Brandt`s Eastern policy, the Treaty was signed on 21 December 1972 in East Berlin. It was ratified the following year by West Germany, despite opposition from right-wing extremists. [who?] It entered into force in June 1973. [Citation required] Article 9. . .