Basic Treaty, 1972
international treaty between West and East Germany
The Basic Treaty (German: Grundlagenvertrag, pronounced [ˈɡʁʊntlaːɡn̩fɛɐ̯ˌtʁaːk] ) is the shorthand name for the Treaty concerning the basis of relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic (German: Vertrag über die Grundlagen der Beziehungen zwischen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik). The Federal Republic of Germany and German Democratic Republic (GDR) recognized each other as sovereign states for the first time, an abandonment of West Germany's Hallstein Doctrine in favor of Ostpolitik.
After the entry into force of the Four-Power Agreement from 1971, the two German states began negotiations over a Basic Treaty. As for the Transit Agreement of 1972, the discussions were led by the Under-Secretaries of State Egon Bahr (for the Federal Republic of Germany) and Michael Kohl (for the German Democratic Republic). As part of the Ostpolitik of Chancellor Willy Brandt, the treaty was signed on 21 December 1972 in East Berlin.
The signing of the treaty in December 1972 paved the way for both German states to be recognised by the international community. Diplomatic relations were opened between the German Democratic Republic and:
Australia (December 1972),
the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands (February 1973),
the United States (December 1974).
Both German states were also admitted to the United Nations on 18 September 1973.
Under the terms of this treaty, the two states established de facto embassies known as "permanent missions", headed by "permanent representatives", who served as de facto ambassadors. West Germany sent its first permanent representative in February 1974, but formal diplomatic relations were never established until German reunification (in October 1990).
The public source identifies “Basic Treaty, 1972” as international treaty between West and East Germany. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Basic, Treaty and international.
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The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 13, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q672112. VIAF identifies the subject as 175083509. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1974.
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This entry incorporates text from “Basic Treaty, 1972” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.