FrankfurtOder asv2022-07 img37 Oderbrücke railway point

The Germany–Poland border (german: Grenze zwischen Deutschland und Polen, pl, Granica polsko-niemiecka), the state

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

between

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and

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 ...

, is currently the

Oder–Neisse line The Oder–Neisse line (german: Oder-Neiße-Grenze, pl, granica na Odrze i Nysie Łużyckiej) is the basis of most of the international border between Germany and Poland from 1990. It runs mainly along the Oder and Lusatian Neisse rivers a ...

. It has a total length of (Downloadable pdf file) and has been in place since 1945. It stretches from the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

in the north to the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

in the south.

History

Oder-Neisse line between Germany and Poland

Germany–Poland border traces its origins to the beginnings of the Polish state, with the

Oder The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows thr ...

(Odra) and

Lusatian Neisse The Lusatian Neisse (german: Lausitzer Neiße; pl, Nysa Łużycka; cs, Lužická Nisa; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe.Oder–Neisse line The Oder–Neisse line (german: Oder-Neiße-Grenze, pl, granica na Odrze i Nysie Łużyckiej) is the basis of most of the international border between Germany and Poland from 1990. It runs mainly along the Oder and Lusatian Neisse rivers a ...

) being one of the earliest natural boundaries between Germany and the

Slavic tribes This is a list of Slavic peoples and Slavic tribes reported in Late Antiquity and in the Middle Ages, that is, before the year AD 1500. Ancestors *Proto-Indo-Europeans (Proto-Indo-European speakers) ** Proto-Balto-Slavs (common ancestors of B ...

. Over several centuries, it has moved eastwards, stabilized in the 14th century, and disappeared in the late 18th century with the

partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...

, in which Poland's neighbors, including the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...

, annexed all of its territory. In 1871 Prussia became part of the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

. After Poland regained independence following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the 123 years of

partitions Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

, a long German-Polish border was settled on, long (including a border with

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

). The border was partially shaped by the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

and partially by plebiscites (

East Prussian plebiscite The East Prussian plebiscite (german: Abstimmung in Ostpreußen), also known as the Allenstein and Marienwerder plebiscite or Warmia, Masuria and Powiśle plebiscite ( pl, Plebiscyt na Warmii, Mazurach i Powiślu), was a plebiscite organised in a ...

and the

Silesian plebiscite The Upper Silesia plebiscite was a plebiscite mandated by the Versailles Treaty and carried out on 20 March 1921 to determine ownership of the province of Upper Silesia between Weimar Germany and Poland. The region was ethnically mixed with bot ...

, the former also affected by the

Silesian Uprisings The Silesian Uprisings (german: Aufstände in Oberschlesien, Polenaufstände, links=no; pl, Powstania śląskie, links=no) were a series of three uprisings from August 1919 to July 1921 in Upper Silesia, which was part of the Weimar Republic ...

). The shape of that border roughly resembled that of pre-partition Poland. 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 ...

, the border was drawn from

Świnoujście Świnoujście (; german: Swinemünde ; nds, Swienemünn; all three meaning "Świna ivermouth"; csb, Swina) is a city and seaport on the Baltic Sea and Szczecin Lagoon, located in the extreme north-west of Poland. Situated mainly on the islands o ...

(Swinemünde) in the north at the

southward to the

(then part of

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

) border with Poland and Germany near

Zittau Zittau ( hsb, Žitawa, dsb, Žytawa, pl, Żytawa, cs, Žitava, :de:Oberlausitzer Mundart, Upper Lusatian Dialect: ''Sitte''; from Slavic languages, Slavic "''rye''" (Upper Sorbian and Czech: ''žito'', Lower Sorbian: ''žyto'', Polish: ''żyto' ...

. It follows the

of the

(Odra) and

Neisse The Lusatian Neisse (german: Lausitzer Neiße; pl, Nysa Łużycka; cs, Lužická Nisa; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe. This was agreed upon by the main

Allies of World War II The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during the Second World War (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy. ...

– the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, the United States, and the United Kingdom, at the Soviets' insistence, and, without any significant consultations with Poland (or Germany), at the

Yalta Conference The Yalta Conference (codenamed Argonaut), also known as the Crimea Conference, held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the post ...

and

Potsdam Conference The Potsdam Conference (german: Potsdamer Konferenz) was held at Potsdam in the Soviet occupation zone from July 17 to August 2, 1945, to allow the three leading Allies to plan the postwar peace, while avoiding the mistakes of the Paris Pe ...

. Soviet foreign minister

Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov. ; (;. 9 March Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O._S._25_February.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O. S. 25 February">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dat ...

, replied to Mikołajczyk's question about the western border of Poland that "it should be based on the Oder River". At the

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

Yalta Yalta (: Я́лта) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crimea ...

, the leaders of the powers decided to hand over to Poland part of

with

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ; german: Allenstein ; Old Prussian: ''Alnāsteini'' * Latin: ''Allenstenium'', ''Holstin'') is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with county rights. ...

and

Elbląg Elbląg (; german: Elbing, Old Prussian: ''Elbings'') is a city in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland, located in the eastern edge of the Żuławy region with 117,390 inhabitants, as of December 2021. It is the capital of Elbląg County. ...

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

with

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

and

Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...

, Lower and

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located ...

with

Opole Opole (; german: Oppeln ; szl, Ôpole) ; * Silesian: ** Silesian PLS alphabet: ''Ôpole'' ** Steuer's Silesian alphabet: ''Uopole'' * Silesian German: ''Uppeln'' * Czech: ''Opolí'' * Latin: ''Oppelia'', ''Oppolia'', ''Opulia'' is a city loc ...

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

and

Gliwice Gliwice (; german: Gleiwitz) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional cap ...

, and the

Lubusz land Lubusz Land ( pl, Ziemia lubuska; german: Land Lebus) is a historical region and cultural landscape in Poland and Germany on both sides of the Oder river. Originally the settlement area of the Lechites, the swampy area was located east of Margrav ...

. On July 24, for the only time in history, the communist Bierut and the oppositionist

Stanisław Mikołajczyk Stanisław Mikołajczyk (18 July 1901 – 13 December 1966; ) was a Polish politician. He was a Prime Minister of the Polish government in exile during World War II, and later Deputy Prime Minister in post-war Poland until 1947. Biography Back ...

spoke with one voice, fighting for the

and Western Neisse line. Churchill insisted on

Eastern Neisse The Eastern Neisse, also known by its Polish name of Nysa Kłodzka (german: Glatzer Neiße, cs, Kladská Nisa), is a river in southwestern Poland, a left tributary of the Oder, with a length of 188 km (21st longest) and a basin area of 4,570 ...

, which meant that

Wałbrzych Wałbrzych (; german: Waldenburg; szl, Wałbrzich; sli, label= Lower Silesian, Walmbrig or ''Walmbrich''; cs, Valbřich or ) is a city located in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in southwestern Poland. From 1975–1998 it was the capital of W ...

with its region and

Jelenia Góra Jelenia Góra (pron. ; Polish: ; german: Hirschberg im Riesengebirge; Exonym: ''Deer Mountain''; szl, Jelyniŏ Gōra) is a historic city in southwestern Poland, within the historical region of Lower Silesia. Jelenia Góra is situated in the Low ...

would remain German. Just before the final protocol was signed, Soviet diplomats made one more amendment according to which the border was to run "west of

". Like a trifle, but thanks to this

got free access to the

. This border was a compensation to Poland for territories lost to the Soviet Union as a consequence of the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , long_name = Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , image = Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H27337, Moskau, Stalin und Ribbentrop im Kreml.jpg , image_width = 200 , caption = Stalin and Ribbentrop shaking ...

, and resulted in significant westward transfers of German population from the "

Recovered Territories The Recovered Territories or Regained Lands ( pl, Ziemie Odzyskane), also known as Western Borderlands ( pl, Kresy Zachodnie), and previously as Western and Northern Territories ( pl, Ziemie Zachodnie i Północne), Postulated Territories ( pl, Z ...

". It roughly matched the centuries-old, historical border between the Medieval Polish and German states. It divided several river cities into two parts –

Görlitz Görlitz (; pl, Zgorzelec, hsb, Zhorjelc, cz, Zhořelec, :de:Ostlausitzer Mundart, East Lusatian dialect: ''Gerlz'', ''Gerltz'', ''Gerltsch'') is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is located on the Lusatian Neisse River, and ...

Zgorzelec Zgorzelec (, german: link=no, Görlitz, szl, Gorlice, Upper Lusatian German dialect: ''Gerlz'', ''Gerltz'', and ''Gerltsch'', hsb, Zhorjelc, dsb, Zgórjelc, cz, Zhořelec) is a town in southwestern Poland with 30,374 inhabitants (2019). It ...

Guben Guben (Polish and Sorbian: ''Gubin'') is a town on the Lusatian Neisse river in Lower Lusatia, in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. Located in the Spree-Neiße district, Guben has a population of 20,049. Along with Frankfurt (Oder) and Görlitz ...

/ Gubin,

Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...

Słubice Słubice is a border town in the Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland. Located on the Oder river, it lies directly opposite the city of Frankfurt (Oder) in Germany, which it was a part of as ''Dammvorstadt'' until 1945. As of 2019, the town ha ...

Bad Muskau Bad Muskau (; formerly ''Muskau'', hsb, Mužakow, pl, Mużaków, cs, Mužakov) is a spa town in the historic Upper Lusatia region in Germany, at the border with Poland. It is part of the Görlitz district in the State of Saxony. It is located ...

Łęknica Łęknica (german: Lugknitz; hsb, Wjeska) is a border town in western Poland, one of the two gminas of Żary County in Lubusz Voivodeship. Muskau Park (''Park Mużakowski''), a Polish-German World Heritage Site, stretches north of the town ce ...

. An urgent issue in the west was the delineation of a border section from Świnoujście to Gryfino in the terrain. Until autumn 1945, these areas, except Szczecin, were not yet included in the Polish administration. This section of the border was delineated in September and October 1945 by the Polish-Soviet mixed commission. By the signed agreement, the Polish administration took over them on October 4, 1945. With the detailed demarcation of the western border, it turned out that in many places it was absurd. The statement of the Potsdam conference that the border should run "directly" west of Świnoujście was put into action so literally that even the water intake for the city of Świnoujście was left abroad. This situation meant that over the years corrections were made to the previously set border route. It was already established in September 1945 that Poland would depart from the German side of and Altwarp in exchange for Stolec, Buk, Bobolin, Barnisław,

Rosówek Rosówek (formerly german: Neu Rosow) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Kołbaskowo, within Police County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland, close to the German border. It lies approximately south of Police ...

, Pargowo and the Stobno-

Kołbaskowo Kołbaskowo (formerly german: Kolbitzow, (historically): ''Colbitzow'') is a village in Police County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland, close to the German border. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called ...

road. In 1949, however, the border was adjusted at the height of the intersection and the Links-Neu Lienken-Buk road. It was agreed that the entire intersection in Nowe Linky would go to the side of the German Democratic Republic, in exchange for a narrow strip of land lying directly on the west side of the road from Nowe Linki to Buk. In January 1951, an act was drawn up to delineate the border between the Polish People's Republic and the German Democratic Republic, confirming the Polish administration of the islands between the Western Oder and Regalica (

Międzyodrze Międzyodrze is an area in Poland located in the Lower Odra Valley between two branches of the Oder River: West Oder and East Oder, a segment from the village Widuchowa to Iński Nurt channel. Międzyodrze area also includes islands located b ...

) south of

Gryfino Gryfino (german: Greifenhagen; nds, Gripenhagen; Kashubian: ''Gripiewò'') is a town in Pomerania, northwestern Poland, with 21,393 inhabitants (2017). It is also the capital of Gryfino County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship (since 1999), previo ...

. In November 1950, the government of the

German Democratic Republic 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 ...

agreed to the transfer of a water intake to Poland, located at Lake Wolgastsee. In June of the following year, an area of 76.5 ha (together with a water treatment plant) was incorporated into Poland, creating a characteristic promontory protruding into the German area. In return, a similarly-sized area north of Mescherin, including the village of Staffelde (Polish: Staw), was transferred from Poland to the German Democratic Republic. On June 6, 1950, a declaration was signed between the government of the

Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...

and the German Democratic Republic on the demarcation of the existing Polish-German border on the

. After the initial agreement, both countries concluded 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 Republic of Po ...

. The border was recognized by

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

in 1970 in the Treaty of Warsaw, and by

reunified Germany German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

, in 1990 in the

German–Polish Border Treaty The German–Polish Border Treaty of 1990; pl, Traktat między Rzeczpospolitą Polską a Republiką Federalną Niemiec o potwierdzeniu istniejącej między nimi granicy) finally settled the issue of the Polish–German border, which in terms ...

of 1990. It was subject to minor corrections ( land swaps) in 1951. The borders were partially open from 1971 to 1980 when Poles and East Germans could cross it without a passport or a visa; it was however closed again after a few years, due to economic pressure on the East German economy from Polish shoppers and the desire of the East German government to diminish the influence of the Polish

Solidarity movement Solidarity ( pl, „Solidarność”, ), full name Independent Self-Governing Trade Union "Solidarity" (, abbreviated ''NSZZ „Solidarność”'' ), is a Polish trade union founded in August 1980 at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland. Subseq ...

on East Germany. Following the

fall of communism The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...

in Poland and Germany, and the

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

, the border became part of the eastern border of the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...

, then that of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. For a period, it was "the most heavily policed border in Europe". After Poland joined the European Union in 2004, the border controls were relaxed in agreement with the

Schengen Agreement The Schengen Agreement ( , ) is a treaty which led to the creation of Europe's Schengen Area, in which internal border checks have largely been abolished. It was signed on 14 June 1985, near the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, by five of the t ...

to eliminate

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

controls by 2007. The modern borderlands of Poland and Germany are inhabited by about one million of those countries' citizens within the counties on each side.

References

External links

* List of former border crossings on Polish-German border on Polish Wikipedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Germany-Poland border European Union internal borders 1945 establishments in Germany 1945 establishments in Poland 1945 in international relations West Pomeranian Voivodeship Lubusz Voivodeship Lower Silesian Voivodeship Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Saxony Brandenburg Borders of Germany Borders of Poland International borders

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links