\n Poland and Germany entered a new era in bilateral relations this week after signing a new defence agreement amid heightened tensions with Russia. It comes 35 years on from a landmark pact that ended decades of enmity and laid the foundations for an increasingly strategic partnership.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Relations\u00a0between\u00a0Poland\u00a0and\u00a0Germany\u00a0have been marked by a long and complicated history.<\/p>\n
During World War II<\/a>, Nazi Germany occupied much of Poland and killed nearly 6 million Polish citizens. After the war, much of Poland’s territory was annexed by the Soviet Union.<\/p>\n One of the key sticking points to renewing ties was the recognition of the post-war border between Germany and Poland, the Oder-Neisse Line. While communist governments in Poland and East Germany agreed to move the border westward, West Germany resisted.<\/p>\n While there was a normalisation in relations between the countries in the 1970s, known as “Ostpolitik”, the real turning point came with the collapse of\u00a0communism\u00a0and restoration of democracy in Poland<\/a> in 1989 and the\u00a0reunification of Germany\u00a0the following year.<\/p>\n The Treaty\u00a0on Good Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation, signed on 17 June 1991<\/a>, opened a new chapter in relations between the two countries. It came just months after the confirmation of the Oder-Neisse line came on 14 November 1990.<\/p>\n Its 38 articles established a wide-ranging cooperation from economic and scientific partnerships, infrastructure, security and arms control.<\/p>\n It also saw Germany bring its full support to Poland for accession to the European Union<\/a>\u00a0in 2004 and NATO in 1999.<\/p>\n Behind the politics, there was a focus on encouraging cultural exchanges, with the creation of the German-Polish Youth Office, as well as a clause to protect the rights of national minorities and their languages on both sides.<\/p>\n Past not forgotten <\/p>\n Russia\u2019s full-scale war on Ukraine<\/a> in 2022 brought the two countries even closer. Both Poland and Germany have taken in large numbers of Ukrainian refugees and supported Ukraine with direct financial aid and military assistance.\u00a0<\/p>\n It is in this spirit of historic cooperation that the two countries chose to deepen their mutual support, with the signing of a\u00a0new defence agreement on the anniversary of the Good Neighbourliness Treaty.<\/p>\n “We are not forgetting the past,” Polish defence minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said in Warsaw on Wednesday, at a press conference alongside his German counterpart Boris Pistorius. “But the politics of the future, development and security are our obligation.”<\/p>\n Poland prepares to lay mines to defend eastern borders from Russian threat<\/a><\/p>\n Posting on social media platform X,\u00a0Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote: “Poland and Germany<\/a> are united by the belief that Europe’s security begins on its eastern flank. That’s why today we signed an agreement so that in the event of a crisis, NATO forces can reach the eastern flank more quickly, the Baltic Sea can be better protected, and the East Shield becomes stronger.”<\/p>\n Poland<\/a> is keen to ensure that major European allies take a greater role in defending the continent\u2019s eastern flank<\/a>, as the United States<\/a> reviews its military presence in Europe<\/a>.<\/p>\n Polish media reports claimed there were plans for a more ambitious pact, but that Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government opted for a reduced version, expecting opposition from nationalist President Karol Nawrocki<\/a> and the far-right Law and Justice (PiS) party.<\/p>\n ‘Equal partner’ <\/p>\n Poland\u2019s importance as a logistics hub for Ukraine, alongside its growing economy and heavy defence investment, has made it a compelling partner for Germany.<\/p>\n “Poland started building a strong army much earlier than other countries in Western Europe,” Polish deputy defence minister Cezary Tomczyk told reporters. “So we are ahead when it comes to capabilities.”<\/p>\n The Polish government also wants Warsaw to be included in decisions about the region\u2019s future. “We definitely don’t accept that any agreements about this part of Europe are made without Poland,” Tomczyk said.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Germany is revitalising its military, the Bundeswehr, after decades of neglect. It has ambitions to build the strongest conventional army<\/a> on NATO\u2019s European side, an effort that will make it a central pillar of European defence in the years ahead.<\/p>\n In December, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said after meeting Tusk in Berlin: “We Germans need a strong Poland as an equal partner. This is in our fundamental interest.”<\/p>\n Germany to send soldiers to fortify Poland border<\/a><\/p>\n Baltic region <\/p>\n The defence agreement is expected to include plans for protecting the Baltic Sea region, as well as cooperation on military mobility and infrastructure, cyber defence and new technology.\u00a0<\/p>\n The two countries are irreversibly tied to\u00a0NATO<\/a>\u2019s defence plans, which give Germany a key role in defending the Baltic region, together with Poland and other countries in central and eastern Europe, said Justyna Gotkowska, deputy director of Warsaw-based think tank the\u00a0Centre for Eastern Studies<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Germany is largely responsible for the defence of the Baltic states and without cooperation with Poland, that will not happen,” she said.<\/p>\n The Baltic countries are often described as the most likely target for Russia<\/a> if it were to attack NATO territory in the future.<\/p>\n German soldiers, among others, would help further develop Poland\u2019s East Shield, a system of enhanced fortifications the country has been building on its borders with Belarus<\/a> and Russia<\/a> since 2024, Tomczyk said.<\/p>\n Poland\u2019s new president brings hard line on refugees, abortion and rule of law<\/a><\/p>\n Political limits <\/p>\n The agreement is also expected to reaffirm the mutual defence obligations set out in NATO and European Union<\/a> treaties, while focusing mainly on practical military cooperation.<\/p>\n However, it stops short of the wider political defence pledges Poland and Germany have each signed with France<\/a> and the United Kingdom<\/a>.<\/p>\n