140. Editorial Note

On November 18, 1970, after nearly 10 months of negotiations, West German Foreign Minister Walter Scheel and Polish Foreign Minister Stefan Jedrychowski concluded a treaty on normalizing relations between Poland and the Federal Republic of Germany, popularly called the “Treaty of Warsaw.” Article 1, Paragraph 1, of the treaty reads: “The Federal Republic of Germany and the Peopleʼs Republic of Poland state in mutual agreement that the existing boundary line, the course of which is laid down in Chapter IX of the Decisions of the Potsdam Conference of August 2, 1945, as running from the Baltic Sea immediately west of Swinemünde, and thence along the Oder River to the confluence of the western Neisse River and along the western Neisse to the Czechoslovak frontier, constitutes the western state frontier of the Peopleʼs Republic of Poland.” For the full text of the treaty, see Keesingʼs Contemporary Archives, 1969–1970, page 24346.

In an unsigned memorandum to President Richard Nixon that morning, Presidentʼs Assistant for National Security Affairs Henry Kissinger assessed the agreement as follows:

“The Polish-West German treaty, to be initialed in Warsaw this morning, will contain an agreement that the Oder-Neisse (as defined in the Potsdam agreement), ‘constitutes’ the Western border of Poland, and that neither side will raise territorial claims against the other ‘in the future.ʼ While the treaty disclaims any infringements on existing bilateral or multilateral agreements, it goes a long way to being the definitive settlement of the border issue. There is no mention in the exchange of notes between Bonn and the Three Western Powers, or between the Germans and Poles, of the German peace treaty. Attempts to make reference to the peace treaty in a note from Bonn to the Three Western Powers collapsed under strong Polish pressures. We plan to note the fact of the treaty with approval, and say little more in our note to the Germans. Brandt will probably go to Warsaw for the formal signing, but ratification procedures are still open to further talks. Presumably, the Poles will try to break the linkage of their treaty to the Moscow treaty, a linkage the Germans agreed to in Moscow.” (National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 23, Presidentʼs Daily Briefs, November 17–30, 1970)

During a senior NSC staff meeting on November 18, Kissinger and Sonnenfeldt discussed the negotiations in Warsaw. According to a record of the meeting, the following exchange occurred:

“Mr. Kissinger: What did the Germans get from the Poles?

“Mr. Sonnenfeldt: Nothing. Incidentally, people are beginning to get very queasy about the Germans making treaties in Eastern Europe, especially with the Russians. As you know, Brandt decided that [Page 330] [former West German Foreign Minister Gerhard] Schroeder had made a mistake in trying to circumvent Moscow and he has changed their priorities. Some Poles are now beginning to talk about the Germans getting together with the Soviets on frontier questions. Theyʼre beginning to talk about a fifth partition of Poland.

“Mr. Kissinger: I have yet to meet a non-German who is happy about German approaches to Eastern Europe.

“Mr. Sonnenfeldt: Many people are schizophrenic about this. They wanted a détente, but are getting very queasy over a German-Soviet treaty, particularly when it is referred to as a non-aggression pact.” (Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box CL 314, National Security Council, 1969–77, Meetings, Staff, 1969–71)

In a press release issued the same day, the Department of State announced: “The United States has noted with satisfaction the initialling of a treaty between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Polish Peopleʼs Republic in Warsaw today. These negotiations have been the subject of consultation between the Federal Republic of Germany and the three Western powers who, with the Soviet Union, share continuing responsibilities for Germany.

“The United States is confident that this development will promote improved relations between Poland and the Federal Republic of Germany and help to eliminate sources of tension in Europe.” (Documents on Germany, 1944–1985, page 1112)

In an affirmative response to a diplomatic note from the Federal Republic of Germany on November 19, the United States noted that “it shares the position that the [Polish-West German] Treaty does not and cannot affect the rights and responsibilities of the Four Powers as reflected in… known treaties and agreements.” (Ibid., pages 1112–1113)

On December 7 West German Chancellor Willy Brandt and Polish Premier Jozef Cyrankiewicz signed the treaty in Warsaw. It was ratified by the West German Bundestag on May 19, 1972, along with the Moscow Treaty, and entered into force the same year.