West Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Treaty of Moscow, a cornerstone of Ostpolitik that committed both sides to renouncing force and accepting postwar European borders—creating a diplomatic framework that later eased East–West negotiations affecting Germany’s status.
West Germany and Poland signed the Treaty of Warsaw, in which Bonn accepted the Oder–Neisse line and pledged nonviolence. The treaty reduced a major territorial dispute and helped stabilize the European setting in which later reunification negotiations unfolded.
The United States, United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union reached the Four Power Agreement on Berlin, improving access and reducing tensions over Berlin. The agreement helped normalize practical arrangements around the divided city and enabled further German–German agreements.
East and West Germany signed the Transit Agreement to regulate civilian travel and transport between West Germany and West Berlin through GDR territory. It eased a persistent flashpoint and demonstrated that binding, technical agreements were possible despite the division.
The two German states signed the Basic Treaty, establishing the basis for relations and mutual recognition as states under international law. This institutionalized contacts (e.g., permanent missions) and integrated the German question more firmly into diplomacy rather than confrontation.
The Helsinki Final Act was signed by 35 states, including both German states, embedding principles on borders, cooperation, and human rights. Its norms later provided political leverage for dissidents and reform movements across Eastern Europe, including in the GDR.
Hungary started dismantling its border fence with Austria, weakening the Iron Curtain in practice. The change created escape routes that intensified pressure on the GDR and accelerated the diplomatic crisis that preceded the Berlin Wall’s opening.
During the Pan-European Picnic at the Austro-Hungarian border, a gate was opened briefly and hundreds of East Germans fled to the West. The episode signaled that Soviet-aligned states might not enforce closed borders, deepening the GDR’s legitimacy crisis.
After a confused announcement on new travel rules, crowds gathered at border crossings and the Berlin Wall was effectively opened. The event transformed reunification from a distant prospect into an immediate political agenda for both German states and the Four Powers.
The Central Round Table first met in East Berlin, bringing government-aligned groups and opposition movements into structured negotiations. It helped manage the transition in the GDR and shaped the pathway toward elections and state-level decisions that enabled unification talks.
At the Ottawa Open Skies conference, the foreign ministers agreed that external aspects of German unity would be negotiated in a “Two Plus Four” format: the two German states plus the U.S., U.K., France, and USSR. This created the core diplomatic mechanism for settling sovereignty and security issues.
Officials from the two German states and the Four Powers opened the Two Plus Four process in Bonn, beginning structured negotiations on international conditions for unity (borders, alliances, and the end of Four Power rights).
The GDR held its first free parliamentary election, producing a government committed to rapid unity negotiations. The result gave democratic legitimacy to subsequent treaties and accelerated the timetable for economic and constitutional steps toward reunification.
East and West Germany signed the treaty creating a Monetary, Economic and Social Union. It set the institutional and legal framework for introducing the Deutsche Mark in the GDR and for rapidly extending the FRG’s market-economic and social systems eastward.
The Monetary, Economic and Social Union entered into force, making the Deutsche Mark legal tender in the GDR and removing key internal economic barriers. This was a decisive practical step toward unity, preceding the final sovereignty and accession treaties.
In a late-night session, the Volkskammer resolved that the GDR would accede to the Federal Republic under Article 23 of the Basic Law, effective 1990-10-03. This set a fixed legal date for unification and intensified the parallel Two Plus Four negotiations.
The two German governments signed the Unification Treaty (Einigungsvertrag), specifying how the GDR would join the Federal Republic and detailing constitutional, administrative, and financial transitions, including the re-creation of five eastern Länder.
The Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany (“Two Plus Four Treaty”) was signed, ending Four Power rights and setting external conditions for a united Germany (including borders, troop limits, and sovereignty). It cleared the final international obstacles to reunification.
The GDR formally joined the Federal Republic, completing German reunification. The step implemented the Unification Treaty and followed the Two Plus Four settlement, marking the end of the postwar division of Germany.
Negotiations, Treaties, and Events Leading to German Reunification (1970–1990)
