London file

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The London Act (also known as the London Nine Powers Conference or Nine Powers Conference ) of October 3, 1954 enabled the Federal Republic of Germany to join NATO . At the same time, for the Federal Republic of Germany, this meant the repeal of the occupation statute and recognition as a representative of all of Germany in international affairs. The conference prepared the Paris Treaties decisively.

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In this act, the three Western Powers considered the government of the Federal Republic to be "the only German government that is freely and legally formed and therefore entitled to speak for Germany as the representative of the German people in international affairs". The other states of NATO adopted this declaration as binding for themselves when they approved the accession of the Federal Republic to NATO.

After the Treaty of the European Defense Community (EDC) failed at the French National Assembly , the rearmament of the Federal Republic , which had been planned since the early 1950s, was about to fail, since for all powers interested in it a new German army after the Second World War was only possible a supranational organization was conceivable.

In order to come to a solution, at the invitation of the British Foreign Minister Sir Anthony Eden , a conference began in London on September 28, 1954 with the aim of integrating the Federal Republic into the Western alliance system. Seven European countries ( Great Britain , France , Italy , Benelux countries and Germany) and the NATO countries USA and Canada were involved . The London conference dealt with three major issues: the Federal Republic of Germany's accession to NATO, the expansion of the Brussels Pact and the restoration of the “ sovereignty of West Germany”. To this end, three working groups were set up in Paris (NATO), London (Brussels Pact) and Bonn (Germany Treaty). The conference participants discussed the topics of joining NATO and the Brussels Pact. The German treaty of 1952 was supposed to be revised in a conference of the three Western powers with the Federal Republic of Germany. The positions of the French government, some of which contradicted the negotiating goals of the USA, Great Britain and West Germany, hardened the fronts. A failure of the negotiations was in the room. It was not until Chancellor Konrad Adenauer voluntarily renounced the German production of NBC weapons, guided missiles, heavy types of ships and bombers that the breakthrough came about. The Benelux countries demonstratively joined this waiver in order to take away the discriminatory effect of the German self-restraint. The result of the negotiations was signed on October 3rd.

The London Final Act contained: the declaration of intent by the Western Powers to renounce the exercise of their occupation powers before the future Western Treaties came into force; the conditions of admission for the Federal Republic of Germany and Italy to the Brussels Pact, including its future arms control powers and Adenauer's declaration of renunciation; discuss the US, UK and Canada commitments on their military contributions and the expansion of SACEUR's powers; the German declaration of renunciation of violence in the pursuit of national goals; In return, the Allies repeated their security guarantees towards West Germany and they confirmed the Federal Republic's claim to sole representation in German territory.

In the Federal Republic of Germany, the treaty and rearmament met with sharp criticism from the opposition, but this could not change the course taken. At four conferences in Paris , the decisions made in London at the end of October 1954 were concretized and contractually regulated. The Western European Union (WEU) emerged from the Brussels Treaty and replaced the failed EVG. The Federal Republic of Germany joined NATO on May 9, 1955. At the same time the occupation statute was repealed and the Federal Republic received its sovereignty.

See also

literature

  • Dietrich Thränhardt: History of the Federal Republic of Germany 1949–1990 . Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1997, p. 83 f .
  • Bert Schulz: Nine powers, one decision . In: The Parliament . No. 40 , September 27, 2004 ( bundestag.de ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Research Institute d. German Ges. For Foreign Policy e. V., Bonn in cooperation with d. Senate of Berlin (ed.): Documents on the Berlin question 1944–1966 . 1987, ISBN 3-486-42324-X , p. 216.
  2. ↑ Bruno Thoss: The accession of the Federal Republic of Germany to the WEU and NATO in the area of ​​tension between bloc formation and détente . In: Ehlert, Greiner, Meyer u. a. (Ed.): The NATO option. Beginnings of West German Security Policy . Volume 3, Munich 1993, p. 35.
  3. ↑ Bruno Thoss: The accession of the Federal Republic of Germany to the WEU and NATO in the area of ​​tension between bloc formation and détente . In: Ehlert, Greiner, Meyer u. a. (Ed.): The NATO option. Beginnings of West German Security Policy . Volume 3, Munich 1993, p. 44.
  4. ↑ Bruno Thoss: The accession of the Federal Republic of Germany to the WEU and NATO in the area of ​​tension between bloc formation and détente . In: Ehlert, Greiner, Meyer u. a. (Ed.): The NATO option. Beginnings of West German Security Policy . Volume 3, Munich 1993, p. 46.