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$Unique_ID{bob00191}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Unified Germany
Statements by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Press and Information Office}
$Affiliation{German Embassy, Washington DC}
$Subject{europe
german
germany
germans
republic
unity
unification
treaty
federal
union}
$Date{1990}
$Log{}
Title:       Unified Germany
Book:        The Unity of Germany and Peace in Europe
Author:      Press and Information Office
Affiliation: German Embassy, Washington DC
Date:        1990

Statements by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany

Resolution on the German-Polish Frontier adopted by the German Bundestag on
21 June 1990

Treaty of 18 May 1990 between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German
Democratic Republic establishing a Monetary, Economic and Social Union

Policy Statement in the German Bundestag by

Dr Helmut Kohl,
Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,

on the Treaty of 18 May 1990 between the Federal Republic of Germany and the
German Democratic Republic establishing a Monetary, Economic and Social Union,
on the External Aspects of German Unity, and on German-Polish Relations

Bonn, 21 June 1990

     Rarely in its history has the German Bundestag faced such important
decisions as the one confronting us today.

I.

     After over 40 years of painful separation, the hopes of the people of
Germany for the unity and freedom of all Germans are about to be fulfilled.
Now that the Treaty establishing a Monetary, Economic and Social Union and the
resolution on the border of the future united Germany with Poland have been
adopted, decisive steps must be taken towards restoring Germany's national
unity.

     It is vital that we prove equal to this historic opportunity and that we
make use of it with dignity and circumspection, in the awareness of our
responsibility.

     We can appreciate the significance of this hour only by recalling the
experiences of our fellow Germans in the GDR during the last 40 years. They
have overcome a system which brought great suffering, misery and despair to
many people, some of whom sacrificed their lives.

     During the last few days in particular we have again witnessed the infamy
of that system, which cooperated with terrorists who committed murder here in
the Federal Republic of Germany.

     The wall and barbed wire are the terrible symbols of a time in which
Germans were prevented from meeting with other Germans. Today we especially
mourn those who were imprisoned in the Stalinist camps, humiliated, tortured
and not infrequently murdered in prisons and penitentiaries. All of them,
especially the victims of 17 June, wished to live in freedom and human
dignity. They fought for truth and against falsehood, against a regime forced
upon them by others. We must never forget their hardship. Such things must
never be allowed to happen again in Germany.

     Particularly on an occasion like today, we must all be aware of our duty
towards them. Particularly on such a day we must all be aware that for us
Germans the motto of 1945 - "never again war , never again dictatorship" - has
not only a national but an international dimension.

     During the past 40 years there have been men and women from almost all
parliamentary groups in the German Bundestag who from its very first session
were passionately and staunchly committed to the goal of freedom and unity
for all Germans.

     Vicariously for the many people who would have been happy to witness this
hour, I should like to quote Kurt Schumacher, the former SPD chairman. He said
in the debate on the first policy statement by Konrad Adenauer in September
1949:

     "We hope that, despite all differences in social, political and
cultural outlook, the issue of German unity will be treated with the same
warmth of heart and the same political resolve throughout Germany."

     Today, too, this spirit of solidarity should guide all members of this
House, particularly now that we have the opportunity to fulfill the mandate
of our Basic Law.

     Of course, no one can say today how we will by judged by the generations
to come. Nonetheless the decisions to be taken today by the German Bundestag
are of vital importance for the future of our nation. And I am convinced that
each one of us will one day be judged by whether he or she faintheartedly
backed away or gave full support on this momentous occasion.

     The Federal Government now intends to create the conditions for all
Germans to be able to live together soon in freedom, peace and prosperity.
We face one of the greatest structural tasks since the war. The Treaty
establishing a Monetary, Economic and Social Union represents an important
step on the path towards unity. For the people in Germany, this will make
unity come true in vital areas of their daily existence.

     This will give our fellow countrymen in the GDR the opportunity for
rapid, extensive improvements in their living conditions. They are pinning
their hopes on this Treaty and they expect us to make these hopes come true.

     The intra-German Treaty is an expression of the solidarity among the
Germans: once again the Germans in the Federal Republic and the GDR are and
will continue to be firmly linked with one another.

     The Treaty manifests the desire of all Germans to face the future
together in a free, united Germany. I call upon all members of this House to
endorse this Treaty. It charts the course towards unity, and those who do not
accept this course do not want unity.

     It is important for the people in the GDR to know that in Federal
Republic, too, the message of the solidarity is supported by a large majority
across party boundaries. Those who reject the intra-German Treaty are
rejecting our fellow countrymen in the GDR; they are questioning our ability
to cooperate in national solidarity at this decisive moment in German history.
I realize that the path on which we are now embarking will be difficult - and
the people in the GDR are also aware of this. But they, too, state
unequivocally that the Treaty must be adopted.

     Only if monetary, economic and social union are speedily achieved will
it be possible, indeed certain, that Mecklenburg/West Pomerania and
Saxony-Anhalt, Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia will soon become flourishing
areas again where it will be a pleasure to live and work.

     Those who maintain that a more leisurely pace would have been more
appropriate are disregarding the realities of the situation in Germany and are
once again overlooking the events of the last few months. The people in the
GDR have determined the pace of developments and will continue to do so.

     Hundreds of thousands of resettlers have come to the Federal Republic
because they no longer saw any hope for the future in the GDR-people who
will be urgently required to rebuild the GDR. Only the prospect of monetary,
economic and social union has raised the hopes of many of our fellow
countrymen once again.

     If the adoption of the intra-German Treaty had been put off-on
whatever grounds-this would have meant the immediate collapse of the GDR.
The number of resettlers would have once again risen dramatically, with
devastating consequences. Who would have assumed responsibility for this?

     The great majority of Germans want the Treaty because they want unity
and because they realize that the path now being pursued is the right one. Of
course, many people both here in the Federal Republic and in the GDR wonder
what these unique developments will mean for them personally - for their
jobs, their social security and their families. I take these concerns very
seriously.

     We in the Federal Republic, too, will have to make sacrifices for the
great goal of the unity of our country. A nation that was not prepared to do
so would have lost its moral strength long ago. It would have no future. But
I am sure we will cope with this major task through joint efforts for the
benefit of the whole nation.

     We will need to work hard until we have achieved unity and freedom,
prosperity and social equality for all Germans.

     Many of our fellow countrymen in the GDR will have to get used to new
living conditions as well as face a transitional period which will be far from
easy. Nonetheless no one will meet with undue hardship. I would like to say to
the Germans in the GDR what Prime Minister de Maiziere has already emphasized:
no one will be worse off than before, and many will be better off.

     As far as the Germans in the Federal Republic are concerned, no one will
have to make sacrifices as a result of German unification. Rather, if need be
we must provide our fellow Germans in the GDR with a portion of the extra
economic prosperity we will acquire over the next few years - thus helping
them to help themselves. I regard this as an obvious dictate of national
solidarity.

     At the same time it is an investment in our joint future - one which will
soon have been repaid in full. For the economic opening up of the GDR will
benefit all - the Germans in both East and West, as well as our partners in
Europe and throughout the world.

     Were we ever better equipped, economically speaking, for tackling the
joint task of German unity than today? The economy is flourishing, the
economic boom is entering its eighth successive year and an end is not yet in
sight. When have conditions ever been more favourable?

     We have every chance of coping with the national challenge facing the
Germans if we stand together in a spirit of solidarity and seize the
opportunities that now present themselves.

     We can do it if we recall the qualities which enabled us to built up the
Federal Republic of Germany from the ruins of our destroyed towns and
countryside over forty years ago.

     At that time the people established a stable democracy through their
courage and their firm determination, their hard work and imagination, and
not least their awareness of their joint task.

     They achieved peace and freedom, prosperity and a high degree of social
justice - for one part of Germany. We want those achievements now at last to
become reality for the whole of Germany. The intra-German Treaty on which we
will vote today is the prerequisite for this.

II.

     The establishment of German unity will gain international acceptance only
if the talks on its external aspects are successful, namely the talks between
the Federal Republic of Germany and the GDR on the one hand and the four
powers - the United States, France, Great Britain and the Soviet Union - on
the other.

     The second meeting to be held within the framework of these so-called
"two plus four" talks will take place between the Foreign Ministers tomorrow
in East Berlin. Further meetings are scheduled for mid-July in Paris and the
beginning of September in Moscow.

     Following our discussions with all partners in this round of talks I am
confident that we will find timely solutions to the remaining questions on
the agenda which are acceptable to all sides.

     In particular, these include relieving the four powers of their rights
and responsibilities as regards Berlin and Germany as a whole. Together with
our partners we intend to present the results of the "two plus four" talks at
the special summit of the CSCE countries due to be held in November. The aim
of these talks must be complete sovereignty for a united Germany.

     Due to its situation in the heart of Europe, Germany has more neighbours
than any other European state. We realize that a united Germany will assume
special importance within the political and economic structure of the Europe
of tomorrow.

     We have thus been aware from the outset that the unity of Germany will
have a fundamental and, of course, an emotional effect on all our neighbours.
Almost all of them suffered greatly under the violence of the Nazi regime,
and we must understand the questions which many of them ask themselves-and
us-today. We will show consideration in this matter.

     We Germans are one nation, and we expect all our neighbours, partners
and friends to support our desire for the unity of our country in freedom. We
accept, for our part, that solving the German question is not the
responsibility of us Germans alone.

     Towards the end of a century which brought such devastating wars,
suffering and distress to Europe, we wish to achieve lasting understanding and
reconciliation with all our neighbours. We want to help build a new, united
Europe.

     The unity of Germany and of Europe are mutually dependent: the advancing
process of European unification creates the framework for Germany to achieve
unity in freedom. The unification of our country will impart decisive momentum
to the political unification of Europe. This also applies to the major
objective of a Europe which, as a whole, must find its way back to cultural,
economic and political unity.

     A Germany united in freedom will never be a threat but will rather
represent a gain for Europe and all our partners. German soil will be a source
of peace and freedom.

     We want to make this particularly clear as regards our relations with
our neighbours in the East - especially Poland and the Soviet Union.

     Together with the people of Poland, and fully aware of the burden of our
past, we must face the major task of shaping a peaceful future in shared
freedom for the young generation from both our countries.

     The Polish people must be made to realize that a free, united Germany
wishes to be a good neighbour to Poland as well as a reliable partner on the
"path towards Europe".

     This means that borders must neither be questioned nor changed. They
lose their divisive nature only when they are undisputed. We want borders to
acquire a new, forward-looking nature - they should be characterized not by
separation but by open ways and contacts in a spirit of freedom.

     Today the German Bundestag, together with the GDR's Volkskammer, is
addressing a clear message to Poland: Poland's border with Germany, as it
stands today, is final. At no time, either today or in the future, will it be
questioned through territorial claims on the part of us Germans. After
Germany has been unified this will be reaffirmed in binding form under
international law by means of a treaty with the Republic of Poland.

     Only an all-German Government can provide a signature which is binding
under international law on behalf of a future united Germany. And only an
all-German parliament can ratify such a treaty. But there is clearly no doubt
as to the will of the German people as testified by the German Bundestag and
the Volkskammer.

     We have not forgotten what terrible suffering was inflicted and injustice
done to other people and nations by Germans. In my policy statement to mark
the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of the war, I said:

     "Hitler had wanted, planned and unleashed the war. There was not and
cannot be any doubt about that." He waged a total war of enslavement and
annihilation on the Polish people.

     The Polish nation was to be wiped out under German occupation.

     The Nazi regime is responsible for the war and its consequences, and
therefore also-together with Stalin - for our loss of the Eastern part of
Germany. The people who lived there were forced to pay a high price for
crimes committed by others, without being guilty themselves.

     There are many people in our country who will be deeply moved and
distressed by the statement given here today. They have strong emotional
bonds with the country of their forefathers. On a day like this they can feel
nothing but grief.

     No one has the right to disregard their feelings. We honour these people
and their feelings, and we can understand them only too well.

     Nonetheless, we must be equally frank in saying that if we wish to seize
the historic opportunity to achieve German unity in freedom we must give a
clear answer to the question of the Polish Western frontier.

     It is not only the Poles who expect this of us. So, too, do all our
neighbours and partners in Europe, and particularly the four powers, that is,
the United States of America, France, Great Britain and the Soviet Union.

     Let no one be mistaken: today we face an absolutely clear choice. Either
we confirm the existing border or we gamble away the chance of German unity.
The decision we must take here today as freely elected Members of Parliament
is both right and necessary. It concerns the unity and freedom of Germany and
at the same time represents an achievement for peace and reconciliation.

     I am aware that, in view of the 700-year history of the Germans in the
regions beyond the Oder and Neisse, it is not easy for a number of colleagues
in the German Bundestag, too, to vote in favour of this resolution.

     Despite our great joy at the fact that German unity in shared freedom is
close to becoming reality as a result of the adoption of the intra-German
Treaty, this is not an easy time for anyone. Joy, earnestness and grief exist
side by side.

     We look back on a long shared past during which the towns and villages
of Silesia, eastern Brandenburg, Pomerania, West and East Prusia and other
regions were home to Germans. They gave this European cultural region its
distinctive, historical character.

     This country, in good times and bad, in its joy and suffering, was home
to many generations of Germans. Millions of Germans have their roots there.
And German families are still living there side by side with their Polish
neighbours. To many Germans the areas east of the Oder and Neisse are still
home, being the places which formed their lives. This very basic feeling of
personal affection for the area deserves everyone's respect, indeed sympathy.

     The 700-year history and culture of the German part of eastern Europe is
and will remain a fundamental part of the German nation's heritage. It means
much to us Germans that the German cultural heritage in Eastern Europe be
preserved and cultivated, and I shall personally seek to ensure that it is. It
remains a living heritage; it is a lasting, unfading part of our history and
of Europe's cultural richness.

     Many years hence people will still be enjoying Eichendorff's poems, and
what Immanuel Kant wrote "on eternal peace"-about a federal system of free
states, about the rule of law - still points the way to Europe's future.

     The truth is - and this should not be suppressed on a day such as this:
the expulsion of the Germans from their native regions was a grave injustice.
There was no justification, either moral or legal. Nor can we say decades
later that it was legitimate.

     I know that the experience of expulsion and flight still hurts decades
later. The death of relatives and friends, the loss of personal possessions
and property, was a terrible fate. But those affected would feel the pain
even more if we were to remain silent about the injustice done to them.

     We are therefore grateful for the words which such distinguished people
as Polish Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki and the writer Andrei
Szczypiorski, who received this year's Art and Culture Prize of the German
Catholics, and others expressed in the Joint Declaration of the German and
Polish Catholics on the occasion of 1 September 1989. They wrote: "The
suffering of millions of Germans who were expelled from their homelands and in
the process lost relatives as well as their possessions and property arouses
sadness and sympathy among Poles and Germans."

     That is a clear token of reconciliation between the German and the Polish
people. Only a few years after the war, particularly those Germans who were
expelled issued their wonderful commitment to reconciliation with our Eastern
neighbours and to the creation of a united Europe in the form of the Stuttgart
Charter adopted in 1950. In it they declared that "the expellees will fully
support all efforts aimed at creating a united Europe in which the nations can
live without fear and coercion... We who have been expelled from our homelands
forego revenge and reprisal. This is our serious and heartfelt resolve in
remembrance of the untold suffering which the past decade in particular has
inflicted on mankind."

     Not revenge, not reprisal - with these words which point to the future
they gave an unequivocal reply to the terrible events of the past. With that
charter they proclaimed to the whole world that the seed of hatred and
violence planted by Hitler and Stalin must not keep on producing more
injustice.

     Today the territories beyond the Oder and Neisse rivers have become home
to Polish families of the second and third generations. We Germans do not
want the two sides to be constantly settling accounts in view of the war and
misery, the bloodshed and death of the past. We look forward, to the future of
our children and grandchildren. And it will be a future in peace and freedom.
But we look in particular to the young Polish generation now living in
Pomerania, Silesia and elsewhere, and we call to them: "We want peace. We
want understanding and reconciliation. We want a free and united Europe!"

     The unification of Germany now offers an opportunity to achieve final
and lasting reconciliation with the Polish people. The time is ripe. What was
possible between Germans and French can, and must, become possible between
Germans and Poles as well. In my native region, the Palatinate, I have watched
Franco-German friendship grow. That friendship will always be of vital
importance to German foreign policy. Only a few decades ago the children
there, as everywhere else in Germany and in France, were taught about a
supposed "arch enemy". That was my own experience at school.

     But hatred and antagonism were overcome because the people wanted them to
be overcome. They met across open frontiers and got to know one another and
thus were able to develop mutual understanding and trust. Today young Germans
and Frenchmen form friendships across the Rhine as a matter of course.

     I would like to see such links across the borders become just as natural
between young Germans and young Poles. We must therefore give substance to the
German-Polish youth exchange agreement which was signed on my visit to Poland
in November 1989 and use it in our efforts to build the common future. We
forget all too easily that a free and united Germany can also build on good,
indeed excellent, traditions in developing its relations with Poland. Past
relations between the two nations have by no means always been overshadowed
by discord, hostilities and human suffering. On the contrary, there have been
long periods of fruitful exchange and harmonious cooperation. Saint Hedwig is
common to both nations.

     We must also at long last grasp what the Polish writer and philosopher
Cyprian Kamil Norvid said in the 19th century: "A nation does not only consist
of those things which distinguish it from others but also of the things which
link it with others." Even in the worst of times there have been Germans who
have shown humanity towards Poles. Apart from the many who allowed themselves
to be misused as tools of crime there were also "Ten Just Men", as a Polish
diary on the period of the German occupation is titled. They were German
patriots who in 1830 - during the Polish struggle for freedom - were
fascinated by the Polish cause and longed for it to succeed. It was the
parliamentary assembly which preceded the famous one at the Paulskirche in
Frankfurt, which declared Poland's liberation to be "the sacred duty of the
German people". And it was again Poles who in 1848/49 fought under the
black-red-gold flag in support of the revolution.

     These experiences, the common struggle of Poles and Germans to secure
freedom, have been partly buried by the crimes of this century - but they
have not been lost. They must be rekindled in the memory of our nations.

     We must not become prisoners of an attitude which only takes note of half
of the truth, of the dark chapters of our past. Truthfulness is the first
requirement if reconciliation between the nations is to be successful.

     Reconciliation between Germans and Poles must not exclude anyone; it must
embrace the expellees as well. Who could do more to foster understanding and
reconciliation than the German expellees, or those Germans still living in
the regions beyond the Oder and Neisse, or their Polish neighbours? Precisely
these groups can become ambassadors of reconciliation. They have an
outstanding role to play as mediators between the nations and cultures.

     Our common aim must be to create a model of peaceful coexistence in
Europe in the territories beyond the Oder and Neisse. There we could
demonstrate how different nations and cultures can live together harmoniously
in a Europe of diversity. For this we must show tolerance and respect our
neighbour, even if he speaks a different language, which he is of course
entitled to do. Protection of the rights of minorities is an indispensable
prerequisite in this respect.

     The Joint Declaration signed during my visit to Poland in November 1989
is a mark of progress. Prime Minister Mazowiecki and I stated that "both sides
will enable individuals and population groups who are of German/Polish origin
or who identify themselves with the language, culture or traditions of the
other side to maintain and develop their cultural identity".

     Much remains to be done to ensure that the people living there can
cultivate their culture, customs and traditions. They want to express
themselves in their native language - not least in religious services. This,
to my mind, should go without saying in a Europe united in peace and freedom.

     We also said in our declaration: "Both sides are deeply convinced that
the commitment of the young generation plays a key role in developing a
relationship of trust between the two nations and for peace in Europe."

     We aim to develop the future in the spirit of such a new mutual trust.
Without Franco-German friendship the task of European unification could not
have been begun; without German-Polish partnership it cannot be completed. I
sincerely hope that in Germany and in Poland conditions will soon be created
which will enable us to set the seal on such a German-Polish relationship in
a united Europe in the form of a comprehensive treaty on good-neighbourliness
and friendship.

III.

     Our target is a peaceful order in Europe in which the people and nations
can live together in freedom - a house of freedom for all Europeans, as
Konrad Adenauer put it in 1961. That peaceful order in Europe must embrace the
democracies of North America as well as the Soviet Union. The United States of
America is closely linked to Europe in three ways: through the Atlantic
Alliance, through the ever closer cooperation between the United States and
the European Community, and through America's active role in the CSCE process.

     One of the great challenges in the years ahead will be to increasingly
involve the Soviet Union in the shaping of Europe's future - politically,
economically, culturally, and in matters of security.

     The decades-long East-West conflict caused many people to forget that the
Soviet Union is linked with Europe not only geographically but also by virtue
of its history and culture. Up to the present time it has made irreplaceable
contributions to Europe's cultural heritage.

     The works of Wassily Kandinsky and Dimitri Shostakovich belong to all
Europeans. The novels of Alexander Soltsenitsyn and Boris Pasternak not only
reflect moving chapters in Europe's history but are also a commitment to
humanity and to the dignity of the individual. Russian-born Marc Chagall, with
such magnificent works as the church windows in Mainz and Metz, has built
bridges of art between the European nations. Through them he personifies
perhaps more than anyone else Europe's Christian-Jewish traditions.

     Two years ago Russia celebrated the 1,000th anniversary of its
christianization. We were reminded once again that this great nation shares
with us the spiritual foundation from which sprung the belief in the
inalienable dignity of every individual. That nation's historical and cultural
affinity with Europe has a long tradition. Now, at long last, it can again
bear fruit politically, too, for the good of Europe's future.

     One framework for this is the Conference on Security and Cooperation in
Europe which, as the East-West confrontation diminishes, can become an
important instrument of pan-European cooperation. It will be a question of
developing new permanent forms of cooperation on the basis of complete
equality-irrespective of a country's size or economic strength.

     Another framework is the Council of Europe, which must be used to a
greater extent as an instrument of cooperation across the whole of Europe. It
symbolizes perhaps more than any other institution the unity of Europe in the
spirit of human rights.

     Today and in the future, German-Soviet relations must serve the aim of
all Europeans to build in free self-determination a Europe enjoying freedom,
peace and justice. Within this European framework we also have the chance to
develop a new epoch in our bilateral relations.

     Tomorrow is the anniversary of Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union
in June 1941. That marks the beginning of the most terrible and most painful
chapter in relations between Germans and Russians and the other peoples of
the Soviet Union. We have not forgotten the millions of victims, the
unspeakable suffering, or the incalculable destruction.

     I wrote the following to President Gorbachev on the occasion of the
45th anniversary of the ending of the war: "At the time when the peoples of
the Soviet Union, too, are about to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the
ending of the Second World War, I wish to assure you and your fellow-citizens
that we share in your mourning for the millions of victims which that
terrible war claimed in your country. We Germans, too, include them in our
thoughts and extend our sympathy to the mourning families.

     We Germans have learned from that bitter chapter in our history and
drawn the consequences. At this particular time, so important to us Germans,
as we proceed to national unity, due not least to the understanding we
reached in Moscow, I wish to repeat: We want Germany to be a source of peace
only."

     Last week President Gorbachev replied as follows: "In coming decades the
political climate in Europe will in many respects depend on the decisions we
will take. I start from our mutual willingness to proceed in such a way that
by creating a basis of a new quality we shall ease our peoples' path into the
next century."

     The development of our relationship with the Soviet Union requires a
special sense of historical responsibility and far-sighted political
creativity. We Germans therefore abide by our undertaking to respect the
legitimate security interests of all European nations, especially those of
the Soviet Union. By the same token I abide by the guiding principles which I
presented to the Bundestag in February following my meeting with President
Gorbachev:

     - The history of this century shows that nothing is more detrimental to
stability than a Germany vacillating between two worlds, between East and
West.

     - And vice versa: Germany firmly anchored with other free democracies in
a European Community which is becoming increasingly integrated both
politically and economically is the indispensable stability factor which
Europe needs at its centre.

     The termination of Germany's division and the membership of a united
Germany in NATO are also in the Soviet Union's interest. Both enhance
stability and security throughout Europe. We now have a chance to initiate a
new phase of European history, a phase in which confrontation is superseded by
cooperation, in which the nations of Europe will find security only through
solidarity.

     For the Soviet Union, too, this means a breakthrough to a new "quality
of security" which can never be achieved by maintaining massive armed forces.

     The solution of the problems to be discussed in the "two plus four"
talks will also depend in the next few months on the success of the various
negotiations concerned with the shaping of a pan-European security
architecture:

     First, there is the question of reshaping the Alliances themselves. The
Warsaw Pact recently appointed a commission to prepare by the autumn for its
transformation into a treaty organization of sovereign, equal member states
based on democratic principles. We welcome this break with the past and hope
for results commensurate with the radical changes that have taken place.

     The Atlantic Alliance will already be adopting far-reaching resolutions
at the summit meeting in London in early July, along the lines proposed by
President Bush. They will redefine the future role, the strategy and the
military structure of the Alliance. Thus we too are drawing conclusions from
the political and military changes taking place in nearly all Warsaw Pact
countries. And we aim to strengthen the political nature of the Alliance and
reduce its military strength.

     In addition, our key political task will be to adopt a common declaration
of the allies' intention to shape their relationship with the members of the
Warsaw Pact in the light of future requirements and to prepare the ground for
a renunciation of force covering the whole of Europe. I have therefore
proposed that the members of both alliances consider adopting a non-aggression
pact within the CSCE framework. Such an agreement should then be open for
accession by all other CSCE participants.

     Disarmament and arms control are the second area in which we should seek
progress and success as we advance towards German unity. This applies
especially to the Vienna negotiations on conventional forces in Europe. A
first agreement in Vienna must be completed in time for the CSCE special
summit in November. I was therefore pleased to note that President Bush and
President Gorbachev were agreed on this at their summit meeting in Washington.

     There is general agreement that the negotiations in Vienna should also
cover the armed forces of a united Germany and of the other participating
states. In view of the conditions prevailing at the end of the 20th century,
however, security in Europe can no longer be defined merely in terms of
military balance, of counting weapons and personnel.

     The third pillar of the pan-European security structure is economic
cooperation, for Europe's continuing integration as a result of trade and
economic cooperation develops confidence and increases stability. Hence we are
also making an indispensable contribution to European security if we, today as
the Federal Republic of Germany and tomorrow as the united Germany, offer our
neighbours in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe comprehensive cooperation in
the fields of industry, science and technology. We must especially be prepared
to offer advice and help towards self-help as they introduce reforms to
establish political pluralism, the rule of law, and a market economy
system - if they  so wish.

     In view of its magnitude, we Germans cannot accomplish this task alone,
of course. We need the cooperation of as many Western partners as possible.
I have therefore written to all of them asking them to discuss this matter at
the meeting of the European Council in Dublin at the beginning of next week,
and at the World Economic Summit in Houston at the beginning of July. Those
meetings should send out a signal for not only political but economic
cooperation. We Germans are prepared to make our contribution. We are also
prepared to place our political relations with the Soviet Union on a broader
contractual basis following the unification of Germany.

     And not least we must lay solid foundations for the future security
architecture of the whole of Europe. These foundations should not supersede
but complement proven institutions. We aim to create pan-European institutions
within the framework of the CSCE. All sides have submitted proposals to this
effect. It is now time to put them together in a way leading to concrete
solutions.

     We are on the road to solving the problems that lie ahead together with
all our partners in East and West. We are all confident that we can accomplish
the task in time. President Gorbachev informed me a few days ago that he
shares this view.

     The Federal Government and I personally will not waste any time. We will
seize every opportunity that leads to this goal. The hopes of many people and
nations are linked with the overcoming of the division of Germany and Europe.
On the threshold of the 21st century the agenda contains many items which
require the combined efforts of all free nations. Together we must work to
create a world in which life in all its forms is respected.

     The tasks involved can only be accomplished through international
cooperation. In this connection the partnership between Europe and America is
indispensable. So too is the contribution of all nations in Europe, including
the Soviet Union.

     The unification of Germany and Europe moves closer. If you, the Members
of Parliament, today

- approve the Treaty with the German Democratic Republic establishing a
Monetary, Economic and Social Union, as well as

- the resolution before you on the final course of the border between
the united Germany and the Republic of Poland,

we shall have completed another important stage on the road to that goal.

     Let us never forget: The opportunity that presents itself in these next
few months also places us under obligation in an unprecedented manner. I call
upon you and all Germans to meet that obligation.

Statement by

Herr Hans-Dietrich Genscher,

Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany, during the
debate in the German Bundestag on 21 June 1990

     Mr President,

     Ladies and Gentlemen,

     Today's session of the German Bundestag focuses in a unique way on the
preamble to our Basic Law. Our constitution requires us to preserve our
national and political unity, to serve the peace of the world as an equal
partner in a united Europe, and to achieve in free self-determination the
unity and freedom of Germany. The Treaty establishing a Monetary, Economic
and Social Union is a significant step on the road to the political
unification of Germany. We in the Federal Republic of Germany must now show
how capable we are of unity.

     Are we prepared to adjust to people who, already at this stage, are
bringing a totally different experience into the unification process?
Unification also includes the solidarity of all Germans, not their development
into two separate communities, one jealous of the other.

     Haven't the Germans in the GDR helped carry our burden? German unity must
be more than the introduction of the Deutsche Mark in East Germany. German
unity has a democratic, a liberal, a historic, a cultural and a moral
dimension. If German unification is to be a gain for the whole of Europe it
must be more than the economic extension of the European Community to the
East. We are not impetuously forcing things but acting responsibly when,
rather than leaving as much time as possible between economic and political
unity, we keep it as short as our responsibility for internal developments,
and for the external aspects, will allow. Nor is German unification an
exclusively German affair. It is inseparably linked with developments in
Europe. To remove it from the European context would be just as dangerous
as any unjustified postponement of German unity, for that would mean the
postponement of European unification as well.

     It is not national exuberance that brings us Germans together but the
desire for unity inherent in every nation, and our awareness of our common
responsibility for our own and for Europe's future. The establishment of
monetary, economic and social union is, like the country's political
unification, tied up with the external aspects of German unification.
Unification will take place when the German Democratic Republic accedes, of
its own accord, to the Federal Republic of Germany in accordance with Article
23 of the Basic Law. Article 23 of our constitution provides for accession,
not annexation. The decision on whether to apply that provision is in the
hands of the GDR, not the Federal Republic. It is East Germany's own sovereign
decision and the people there are insisting upon it.

     In both its Treaty with the Soviet Union signed in Moscow and in the
Basic Treaty with the GDR, the Federal Republic of Germany reaffirmed its
political objective of working for a state of peace in Europe in which the
German nation will recover its unity in free self-determination. This
attachment of German unification to the process of peace in Europe has
determined German foreign policy from the beginning. And it is standing the
test in this crucial year 1990 too.

     The resolutions to be adopted today by the German Bundestag and the
Volkskammer express the will of the freely elected German parliaments that,
following the unification of Germany, the course of the German-Polish frontier
should be finally sealed by an international treaty. It is the boundary line
drawn in the treaties and agreements of the Federal Republic of Germany and
the German Democratic Republic. The formal communication of this resolution
by the Federal Government, also as a declaration of intent, and
correspondingly by the Government of the German Democratic Republic, is the
strongest possible commitment to the Polish people. Even in the Treaty of
Warsaw (signed in 1970) the Federal Republic of Germany and the then Polish
People's Republic declared that they had no territorial claims whatsoever
against each other and that they would not assert such claims in the future.
The German-Polish frontier is definitive. As the Federal Chancellor said, that
is the message from both German parliaments to the Polish people. The treaty
we intend to conclude after German unification will make that message binding
under international law. The Treaty of Warsaw represented the Federal
Republic's determination to break the vicious circle of injustice compounded
by further injustice in order to open the way to a peaceful order in Europe
as proposed by the Western Alliance as early as 1967 in the Harmel Report.

     The Treaty of Warsaw should help establish a lasting foundation for
peaceful coexistence and for the consolidation of peace and security in
Europe. We know that nothing has been or will be surrendered by the Federal
Republic of Germany or any of its governments that was not lost long
before - lost by a criminal war and a criminal system.

     We also realize - and this includes all those who have lost their
homeland - that great injustice has been done to the Polish people by Germans
and in the name of Germany. Those particularly affected by the frontier drawn
as a consequence of the war are those who had to bear the greater burden of
our history because they have lost their native regions. Despite their sorrow
they have not allowed themselves to be led astray politically. One of the
reasons why we can now look back on 40 years of freedom and democracy is that
the expulsion and flight of those people, that the suffering of injustice, has
not given rise to a fresh wave of nationalism or new radicalism. That is the
irreplaceable contribution which particularly the refugees and expellees have
made to democracy and to making the German people capable of peace. This
contribution must be mentioned in connection with the part they played, in
both parts of the country, in the reconstruction of Germany.

     No one can escape his emotions on such an occasion. Not even those who
have long been convinced that the frontier is unalterable, who have long been
convinced of the need for its international recognition, and who have been
saying so for many years, not superficially and without concern, but out of a
sense of responsibility for German-Polish relations and peace in Europe, and
out of a sense of responsibility towards those affected who have a right to
be told the plain truth.

     In discussing the joint resolution on the German-Polish frontier we
should on such an occasion as this not forget those Germans who live in
Poland. We want them to know that the new European order we are seeking and
the new relationship we desire with Poland will also enable them to live their
own lives and preserve their identity in the places where they live, in a
Europe based on freedom and democracy.

     The resolutions of the German Bundestag and the Volkskammer will create
one of the prerequisites for settling the external aspects of German
unification. Without the finality of the Oder-Neisse frontier there will be no
peace in Europe, and without peace no German unity. Both the Treaty of Warsaw
and today's resolution demonstrate in a particularly impressive manner the
fact that Germany's fate is linked up with the fate of Europe. Without the
treaties of Warsaw and Moscow, without the treaty with Czechoslovakia and the
Basic Treaty with the German Democratic Republic, the Final Act of Helsinki
would not have become possible. And without the CSCE process it would not have
been possible gradually to develop towards a situation in Central and Eastern
Europe in which Mr Gorbachev's liberating policy could open the way to human
rights and democracy.

     Recognition of Poland's existing Western frontier is the German
contribution to the establishment of a peaceful order in Europe . It manifests
our desire for good-neighbourly relations between the Germans and Poles, and
for much more. The Germans want nothing more than to live in unity and in
peace and friendship with all nations of Europe.

     Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,

     It becomes particularly clear in this fateful year following last year's
revolution for freedom that German unification is not creating new problems in
Europe, that it is indeed settling a serious problem, not only for the Germans
but for the whole of Europe. This is proved by the encouraging developments
throughout Europe. The division of Germany into two states was the dramatic
symbol of the Cold War and the unification of Germany will be the key which
will speed up the creation of a one, free Europe. It is after all no
coincidence that European Union is just now on the agenda of the European
Community. German unification is becoming the catalyst for European
unification. The European Union is taking shape but it will only be a part of
the one Europe, a part of the European confederation stretching from the
Atlantic to the Urals which we now want to establish.

     Both processes, unification within the European Community and the
unification of the whole of Europe, must not drive us apart but bring us
together. Western European unification must not be separated from pan-European
unification. German unification fulfills a key, historic function in this
link. It must be the ferment for removing the old power structures and
ideologies of post-war Europe, the ferment for bringing Western, Central and
Eastern Europe together into an ever closer network of integration and
cooperation spanning the whole of Europe.

     A CSCE summit conference is due to take place in the autumn. What still
seemed doubtful only a few months ago is now accepted by all 35 states. We
would like to see that conference incorporate the right to democracy and free
elections, as well as the rights of minorities, in the Final Act of Helsinki.
It will create new institutions which will open the way to new pan-European
structures, including cooperative security structures. We are aware that this
larger, whole Europe can only preserve its stability through the continuing
membership of the United States and Canada in the Western Alliance and through
their participation in the CSCE process. And we are also aware that stability
today is more than military balance. To us stability is comprehensive,
embracing the political, security, economic and ecological aspects.

     Who would speak of security in Europe without bearing in mind Europe's
environmental insecurity? This single Europe with a peaceful order cannot be
created without the inclusion, not to say against the will, of the Soviet
Union. Its full incorporation in the process of unification spanning the whole
of Europe is in the interest of all CSCE participating states, not only of the
Soviet Union itself. Any responsible policy towards this vast country with its
huge problems, but also with its tremendous possibilities, must start from
its integration rather than isolation.

     We are living on the same continent. Mr Gorbachev has opened up his
country towards the West, towards Europe. This requires a European response,
which can only be: inclusion of the Soviet Union in every kind of political,
economic, ecological and technological cooperation in Europe. Europe's
economic development within a free continent cannot remain detached from
economic developments in the Soviet Union. Tensions can also arise from
differences in economic conditions.

     Ladies and Gentlemen,

     In pursuing unification we can understand the Soviet Union's desire to
live in security. This will be taken into account in the Vienna negotiations
where the question of the military strength of a united Germany is concerned.
And there are other possibilities of responding to this security interest. The
merging of the two parts of Germany offers us Germans a historic opportunity.
Our central position can have a positive influence. German unification must
become a contribution towards the creation of a united Europe. Germany not as
a source of European discord, not as a source of power politics, but Germany
side by side with France and firmly anchored in a democratic community showing
the way to the whole Europe. German unification not as a reflection of
national self-centredness with empty pathos but showing responsibility for
Europe as part of Europe. We are pledged to follow this ideal European path to
German unity and to German self-determination.

Resolution

on the German-Polish Frontier adopted by the German Bundestag
on 21 June 1990

     The German Bundestag,

     - conscious of its responsibility in the light of German and European
history,

     - firmly resolved to help achieve in free self-determination the unity
and freedom of Germany so that Germany will serve the peace and freedom of the
world as an equal partner in a united Europe based on the rule of law and
respect for human rights,

     - anxious to make a contribution through German unity to the development
of a peaceful order in Europe in which frontiers no longer divide, which
enables all European nations to live together in mutual trust and engage in
comprehensive cooperation for the common benefit, and which ensures lasting
peace, freedom and stability,

     - conscious of the terrible suffering inflicted on the Polish people
through crimes perpetrated by Germans and in the name of Germany,

     - conscious of the great injustice done to millions of Germans who have
been expelled from their native regions,

     - desiring that a united Germany and the Republic of Poland, mindful of
the tragic and painful chapters of history, systematically continue the policy
of understanding and reconciliation between Germans and Poles, shape their
relations with a view to the future and thus set an example of
good-neighbourliness,

     - convinced that special importance attaches to the young generation's
commitment to reconciliation of the two nations,

     - expecting the freely elected People's Chamber of the GDR to issue
simultaneously an identical declaration,

     expresses its will that the course of the frontier between the united
Germany and the Republic of Poland be definitively confirmed, by a treaty
under international law, as follows:

     The course of the frontier between the united Germany and the Republic of
Poland shall be as specified in the "Agreement between the German Democratic
Republic and the Polish Republic concerning the Demarcation of the Established
and Existing German-Polish State Frontier" of 6 July 1950 as well as the
accords implementing and supplementing the aforementioned agreement (Treaty of
22 May 1989 between the German Democratic Republic and the Polish People's
Republic on the Delimitation of the Sea Areas in the Oder Bay; Instrument of
27 January 1951 confirming the Demarcation of the State Frontier between
Germany and Poland) and in the "Treaty between the Federal Republic of
Germany and the Polish People's Republic concerning the Basis for Normalizing
their Mutual Relations" of 7 December 1970.

     The two sides reaffirm the inviolability of the frontier existing between
them now and in the future and undertake to respect each other's sovereignty
and territorial integrity without restriction.

     The two sides declare that they have no territorial claims whatsoever
against each other and that they will not assert such claims in the future.

     The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany is formally called
upon to communicate this resolution to the Republic of Poland as the
expression of its will.