against), and the German Bundestag (parliament) ratified the treaties with the Soviet Union and Poland on 17May 1972. Most CDU/CSU members of parliament abstained. The Bundestag, in an “interpretative resolution”, declared that the treaties did not conflict with the aim of restoring German unity by peaceful means.

The series of treaties with Eastern Europe was rounded off by a Treaty on the Basis of Relations (Basic Treaty) between the two German states which had been preceded by talks and negotiations since June 1972. After Willy Brandt’s reelection as Chancellor on 14 December 1972, the way was clear for the signing of the Treaty in December of the same year. Both sides undertook not to threaten or use force against one another and to respect each other’s independence. The inviolability of the border between the two German states was also endorsed. Furthermore, the two sides expressed their willingness to resolve humanitarian problems in a practical manner. It was agreed that, owing to the special nature of their relationship, they would establish “representations” in their respective capitals instead of the usual embassies.

At the signing ceremony the Federal Government again handed over a letter emphasizing its intention to pursue German unity. The government of the state of Bavaria asked the Federal Constitutional Court to confirm that the treaty did not run contrary to this objective. This the Court did, also noting that the German Reich continued to exist in international law and was partially identical with the Federal Republic. The Court ruled that the GDR could not be regarded as a foreign country, only as domestic territory.

In 1973 the Treaty of Prague between Czechoslovakia and the Federal Republic was signed. It declared the Munich Agreement of 1 938 to be null and void “in accordance with this Treaty”. The two sides also agreed that their borders were inviolable and that they would not use force against one another.

While negotiations were going on in Vienna on mutual and balanced force reductions (MBFR), the Soviet Union and the United States completed an agreement designed to prevent a nuclear war, and 35 countries attended a Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) in Helsinki, little change occurred in the relationship between the Federal Republic and the GDR- On the one hand, Berlin (East) benefited both materially and financially from the follow-up agreements to the Basic Treaty, but on the other the GDR regime meticulously kept its ideological distance.