between Germany and Poland In the
Potsdam Agreement of 1945, the Allies of World War II had defined the
Oder–Neisse line as the line of demarcation between the
Soviet occupation zone 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 of 1950 between
East Germany and the
Republic of Poland confirmed this border as final.
West Germany, which saw itself as the only legal successor to the
German Reich 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), its legal caveat that only a future peace treaty would formally settle the issue remained in effect. With
German reunification 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 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 ==