| Germany–Poland border | |
|---|---|
 Germany–Poland border | |
| Characteristics | |
| Entities |  Germany Poland |
| Length | 467 kilometres (290 mi) |
| History | |
| Established | 1918 |
| Current shape | 13 June 1989 |
| Treaties | Treaty of Zgorzelec (1950) East Germany–Poland Maritime Boundary Delimitation Agreement (1989) German–Polish Border Treaty (1990) |
TheGermany–Poland border (German:Grenze zwischen Deutschland und Polen,Polish:Granica polsko-niemiecka) is the stateborder betweenPoland andGermany, mostly along theOder–Neisse line, with a total length of 467 km (290 mi).[1] It stretches from theBaltic Sea in the north to theCzech Republic in the south.
The Germany–Poland border traces its origins to the beginnings of the Polish state, with theOder (Odra) andLusatian Neisse (Nysa) rivers (theOder–Neisse line) being one of the earliest natural boundaries of the early Polish state under thePiast dynasty,[2][3][4] although not necessarily yet a border with Germany, as present-day north-eastern Germany was still inhabited by SlavicLechitic tribes, and German conquests and sovereignty over the tribes were periodic and intermittent. Under the first Polish rulersMieszko I andBolesław I the Brave, the Polish western border reached further west than the present one, and Poland bordered the German-ruled marches ofLusatia andMeissen in the southern section of the western border,[5] while the northern section marked the border with the Slavic LechiticLutician federation. Polish victories against invading German forces atCedynia (972) andNiemcza (1017) secured the early western border of Poland.
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Between the 11th and 14th centuries, the German-Polish border moved west or east in various sections at various times. In the early 14th century there were significant shifts of the borders to the east and west in various sections, as a result of whichWałcz andCzaplinek fell to the German-ruledMargraviate of Brandenburg, andSenftenberg andZittau passed to the Polish-ruledDuchy of Jawor,[6][7] however, several decades later both territories were lost by the aforementioned principalities and the border stabilized, in a more eastern course than at present,[8] although the southern section formed not a German-Polish border, but aBohemian-Polish border until the 1740s. The border disappeared in the late 18th century with thepartitions of Poland, in which Poland's neighbors, including theKingdom of Prussia, annexed all of its territories.[9][10][11] In 1871 Prussia became part of theGerman Empire.
AfterPoland regained independence followingWorld War I and the 123 years ofpartitions,[10] a long German-Polish border was settled on, 1,912 km (1,188 mi) long (including a 607 km (377 mi) border withEast Prussia).[12] The border was partially shaped by theTreaty of Versailles and partially by plebiscites (East Prussian plebiscite and theSilesian plebiscite; the former also affected by theSilesian Uprisings).[11][12][13][14] The shape of that border roughly resembled that of pre-partition Poland.[15] Germany repeatedly contested the interwar border and even Poland's existence itself, as stated by Chief of the German ArmyHans von Seeckt already in 1922,[16] and it was the Germaninvasion of Poland in 1939 that startedWorld War II.
AfterWorld War II, the border was drawn fromŚwinoujście in the north at theBaltic Sea southward to theCzech Republic (then part ofCzechoslovakia) border with Poland and Germany nearZittau. It follows theOder–Neisse line of theOder (Odra) andNeisse (Nysa) rivers through most of their course.[17][18][3] This was agreed upon by the mainAllies of World War II – theSoviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom, at the Soviets' insistence, and, without any significant consultations with Poland (or Germany), at theYalta Conference andPotsdam Conference.[18][19][20] Soviet foreign ministerVyacheslav Molotov, replied to Mikołajczyk's question about the western border of Poland that "it should be based on the Oder River". At thesummit inYalta, the leaders of the powers decided to hand over to Poland part ofEast Prussia withOlsztyn andElbląg,Pomerania withGdańsk andSzczecin, Lower andUpper Silesia withOpole,Wrocław andGliwice, and easternLubusz Land. On July 24, for the only time in history, the communist Bierut and the oppositionistStanisław Mikołajczyk spoke with one voice, fighting for theOder andWestern Neisse line. Churchill insisted onEastern Neisse, which meant thatWałbrzych with its region andJelenia Góra 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 ofŚwinoujście". Like a trifle, but thanks to thisSzczecin got free access to theBaltic Sea.[21]
This border was a compensation to Poland forterritories lost to the Soviet Union as a consequence of theMolotov–Ribbentrop Pact, and resulted in significant westward transfers ofGerman population from the "Recovered Territories".[9][19][22] It roughly matched the centuries-old, historical border between the medieval Polish and German states.[9] It divided several river cities into two parts:Görlitz/Zgorzelec,Guben/Gubin,Frankfurt (Oder)/Słubice,Bad Muskau/Łęknica.[23]
It also divided the island ofUsedom/Uznam, theUeckermünde Heath and theMuskau Park/Park Mużakowski, now aUNESCOWorld Heritage Site.
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 them over on 4 October 1945. Although the western border was delineated in detail, some details turned out to be 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 on the other side of the border. 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 ofRieth [de;pl] andAltwarp in exchange forStolec,Buk,Bobolin,Barnisław,Rosówek,Pargowo and theStobno-Kołbaskowo road. In 1949, however, the border was adjusted at the height[clarification needed] 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 theGerman Democratic Republic (East Germany), confirming the Polish administration of the islands between the Western Oder andRegalica (Międzyodrze) south ofGryfino. In November 1950, the government of East Germany agreed to the transfer of a water intake to Poland, located at Lake Wolgastsee. In June 1951, an area of 76.5 ha (together with a water treatment plant) was incorporated into Poland, creating a characteristic[clarification needed] salient extending 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.[24]
On 6 June 1950 a declaration was signed between the government of thePolish People's Republic and the German Democratic Republic on the demarcation of the existing Polish-German border on theOder–Neisse line. After the initial agreement, both countries concluded theTreaty of Zgorzelec. The border was recognized byWest Germany in 1970 in theTreaty of Warsaw, and byreunified Germany, in 1990 in theGerman–Polish Border Treaty of 1990.[25][26][27][28] It was subject to minor corrections (land swaps) in 1951.[28] The borders werepartially 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 PolishSolidarity movement on East Germany.[29][30][31]
Following thefall of communism in Poland and Germany, and theGerman reunification, the border became part of the eastern border of theEuropean Economic Community, then that of theEuropean Union. For a period, it was "the most heavily policed border in Europe".[32] After Poland joined the European Union in 2004, the border controls were relaxed in agreement with theSchengen Agreement to eliminatepassport controls by 2007.[33][34] The modern borderlands of Poland and Germany are inhabited by about one million of those countries' citizens within the counties on each side.[29]
2025Polish–German border crisis is an ongoing crisis between Germany and Poland, sparked by claims of illegal migration encouraged by the German police.
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From north to south:
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