Transit agreement

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Signing of the transit agreement in 1971 by Egon Bahr (left) and Michael Kohl in the Palais Schaumburg .
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Chronological overview of the Eastern Treaties, 1963–1973

The transit agreement is the agreement between the government of the German Democratic Republic and the government of the Federal Republic of Germany on the transit traffic of civilian persons and goods between the Federal Republic of Germany and Berlin (West) . It was negotiated between State Secretaries Egon Bahr ( Federal Republic ) and Michael Kohl ( GDR ) and signed in Bonn on December 17, 1971 . It came into force on June 3, 1972.

As part of the new Ostpolitik of the Brandt / Scheel government , which wanted to achieve a significant improvement in internal German relations through “change through rapprochement” , the subject of the agreement according to Art. and waterways between the Federal Republic of Germany and the western sectors of Berlin - Berlin (West) through the territory of the German Democratic Republic. "

The transit agreement was concluded before the basic agreement.

Basics

The basis for this agreement between the Allies closed Four Power Agreement of 3 September 1971 which also came into force on June 3 1,972th For the first time since 1945, the Soviet Union guaranteed unhindered transit traffic between the Federal Republic and West Berlin. Even if the western sectors “should not be part (constitutive part) of the Federal Republic of Germany as before and continue not to be governed by it”, “the ties between the western sectors of Berlin and the Federal Republic of Germany should be maintained and developed. “The concrete regulations concerning civil traffic should be regulated by the two German states themselves within the framework of the principles laid down in Annex I to the Four Power Agreement.

The regulation of interzonal traffic has been used by the Four Powers since 1945. The German side only played a subordinate role in the context of the transit regime on the access routes between the Federal Republic and West Berlin. She was not allowed to freely dispose of the items of the transit regulation. Rather, it only had the authority to fill in the Four Power Agreement with its own regulations in accordance with an authorization under occupation law clearly outlined by the Four Powers . The inner-German transit agreement was therefore also referred to as the "Implementation and Supplementary Agreement to the Four Power Agreement".

The Federal Republic of Germany and the USSR had previously recognized the inner-German border as inviolable in the Moscow Treaty of August 12, 1970 .

contents

The individual provisions had to be compatible with Annex I to the Four Power Agreement in accordance with the character of an implementation and supplementary agreement, which is already expressed in the preamble, which expressly refers to compliance with the Four Power Agreement. After initialing, the ambassadors of the three western powers confirmed this conformity to the German federal government in writing.

object

The subject of the agreement was the transit traffic of civilian persons and goods on roads, railways and waterways between the Federal Republic of Germany and the western sectors of Berlin through the territory of the German Democratic Republic (Art. 1). It should take place "in the simplest, fastest and cheapest way" via the border crossing points and transit routes provided (Art. 2, 3).

A truck is sealed at the inner-German border.

Freight transport

Officially locked road freight vehicles, rail freight wagons and inland freight ships could be used for the transport of civil goods in transit traffic (Art. 6).

The provisions contained in Art. 6 and 7 on the sealing of vehicles in freight traffic only reproduced, down to the technical details, what was provided for in Annex I to the Four Power Agreement in Clause 2 a and b.

passenger traffic

Visa entries from the authorities of the GDR

Visas were issued at the border crossing points for travelers in transit in motor vehicles, through buses and on passenger trains without a stop in the GDR area (Art. 4). Travelers, their means of transport and drivers of goods transport vehicles should not be searched.

With the agreement it was agreed, among other things, that the issuing of visas at the border inspection posts of the GDR would take place directly on the vehicle of the travelers and that the luggage would not be checked . A two-tone visa was stamped into the passports. The colors changed every year. For residents of West Berlin, an extra sheet was inserted into the (green) “ makeshift ” Berlin ID card. The passport issued by the Federal Republic for residents of West Berlin was not recognized by the authorities of the GDR. When using continuous train connections, visas were issued by the inspection bodies of the GDR during the journey. The visa notice for the transit by train was solid black.

Abuse of the transit routes

From the perspective of the GDR, there was an increased risk that the transit routes could be used for escape attempts or uncontrolled and thus undesirable contacts between West Berliners or German citizens and citizens of the GDR. Therefore, it was explicitly stated in Articles 16 and 17 what could be seen as abuse of the transit agreement and criminally prosecuted:

1. Abuse within the meaning of this Agreement exists if, after this Agreement has come into force, a transit traveler illegally and culpably violates the generally accepted regulations of the German Democratic Republic regarding public order while using the transit routes by
a) disseminates or absorbs materials;
b) accepts people;
c) leaves the intended transit routes without being induced to do so by special circumstances, such as accident or illness, or by the permission of the responsible organs of the German Democratic Republic;
d) commits other criminal offenses or
e) commits administrative offenses by violating road traffic regulations.
In the event of sufficient suspicion of abuse, the responsible organs of the German Democratic Republic will search travelers, the means of transport they use and their personal luggage in accordance with the generally applicable regulations of the German Democratic Republic with regard to public order, or they will be rejected.

The agreement also provided that an offense should also be prosecuted by the authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany if the offense was discovered at a time when the perpetrator was already outside the GDR.

According to the case law of the Federal Court of Justice , a paid escape helper contract neither violated a legal prohibition ( Section 134 BGB) nor against morality ( Section 138 BGB). Objections by the GDR that this jurisprudence violated "the spirit and the letter" of the transit agreement and the obligation of the federal government to prevent abuse were rejected by the federal government on the grounds that the federal German courts were independent and beyond the control of the federal government.

Duties, fees and other costs

With Art. 18 it was also regulated that the costs incurred for the use of the transit routes from then on no longer had to be paid directly by the traveler, but were now paid in an annual lump sum by the Federal Republic. This passage was an immense relief for the travelers. The text of the contract states:

1. Duties, fees and other costs that affect traffic on the transit routes, including the maintenance of the corresponding routes, facilities and systems that are used for this traffic, are paid by the Federal Republic of Germany to the German Democratic Republic in the form of an annual lump sum paid.
2. The lump sum to be paid by the Federal Republic of Germany includes:
a) road tolls;
b) the tax equalization levy;
c) the visa fees;
d) to compensate for the financial disadvantages of the German Democratic Republic due to the discontinuation of licenses for regular bus services and the granting of permits for inland waterway transport, as well as other corresponding financial disadvantages.
The lump sum for the years 1972 to 1975 is set at 234.9 million DM per year.
3. The Federal Republic of Germany transfers the lump sum annually by March 31, for the first time by March 31, 1972, to an account at a bank in the Federal Republic of Germany to be determined by the German Democratic Republic in favor of the Deutsche Außenhandelsbank AG in Berlin.
4. The amount of the lump sum to be paid from 1976 and the determination of the period for which this lump sum is to be valid will be determined in the second half of 1975 taking into account the development of transit traffic.

The meaning of Article 18 is also evident from an exchange of correspondence that both parties to the contract conducted during the contract negotiations. It was agreed that this article would come into force on January 1, 1972 . As agreed, the annual lump sums were regularly adjusted to the volume of traffic on the transit routes and ultimately amounted to DM 860 million in 1989.

Transit commission

Article 19 of the agreement provided for the formation of a “commission to clarify difficulties and differences of opinion in the application or interpretation of this agreement”. It was chaired by representatives from both transport ministries and met at the request of one of the contracting parties. The joint transit commission met around 50 times until 1990. The most frequent reason was the GDR's protest against the use of transit routes by escape workers.

effects

In the years that followed, transit traffic through the GDR was increasingly improved. Agreements were made regarding the renewal of the Berlin – Hanover autobahn transit route (today's BAB 2 ), the establishment of a freeway connection between Berlin and Hamburg (today's BAB 24 , until the mid-1980s that traffic was via trunk road 5 ), and the establishment of the border crossing Staaken / Eisenbahn and other improvements made. The costs borne by the Federal Republic for this totaled DM 2,210.5 million until 1990, with the construction of the Berlin – Hamburg motorway making up the largest share at DM 1.2 billion.

Persons with permanent residence in the western sectors of Berlin

With an agreement dated December 20, 1971, the travel and visitor traffic of persons with permanent residence in the western sectors of Berlin for trips to Berlin (East) and the sovereign territory of the GDR was regulated. It also came into force together with the Four Power Agreement. People with permanent residence in West Berlin could be granted entry to visits of a total of thirty days a year for humanitarian, family, religious, cultural and tourist reasons. A valid identity card and an entry permit were required, and then an exit permit from the GDR to leave the country.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Agreement between the Government of the German Democratic Republic and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany on the transit traffic of civilians and goods between the Federal Republic of Germany and West Berlin of December 17, 1971. verfassungen.de, accessed on August 18, 2021.
  2. ↑ Four Power Agreement of September 3, 1971. verfassungen.de, accessed on August 18, 2021.
  3. ↑ Andreas Grau: Four Powers Agreement Living Museum Online , September 19, 2014.
  4. ↑ II.A. of the Four Power Agreement
  5. ↑ Hartmut Schiedermair : The prohibition of abuse of law and the regulation of transit traffic to Berlin. ZaöRV 1978, pp. 160, 169 ff. Full text online.
  6. ^ Transit through the GDR MDR , June 3, 2021.
  7. ↑ Hartmut Schiedermair: The international legal status of Berlin after the Four Power Agreement of September 3, 1971. Contributions to foreign public law and international law, 1975, p. 72 ff.
  8. ↑ Art. 3, 3rd indent of the treaty between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics "Moscow Treaty" of August 12, 1970. documentArchiv.de, accessed on August 18, 2021.
  9. ↑ “Our governments are of the opinion that the provisions of the (transit) agreement are in line with the Four Power Agreement of September 3, 1971, which is the standard for its interpretation and application.” See Hartmut Schiedermair : Das Verbot des Abuse of the law and the regulation of transit traffic to Berlin. ZaöRV 1978, pp. 160, 171. Full text online.
  10. ↑ BGH, judgment of September 29, 1977 - III ZR 164/75
  11. ^ BGH, judgment of February 21, 1989 - III ZR 185/77
  12. ↑ Hans H. Mahnke (Ed.): Documents on the Berlin question 1967–1986. Munich, 1987, p. 483 ff. ( Google.books. )
  13. ↑ Detlef Nakath : Politics: The German-German transit agreement was signed 25 years ago. Continuous bus New Germany , December 14, 1996.
  14. ↑ See the development of relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic. Information by the Federal Government. BT-Drs. 7/420 of March 28, 1973, travel / traffic from and to Berlin (West) , pp. 30, 32 ff.
  15. ↑ Agreement between the government of the German Democratic Republic and the Senate on the facilitation and improvement of travel and visitor traffic of December 20, 1971. verfassungen.de, accessed on August 20, 2021.