Shaping and development of Polish-German relations in the years 1989–2005. An assessment attempt

Abstract

The aim of this article is an attempt to present Polish-German relations
in the years 1989–2005, that is, from the fall of communism in Poland and
East Germany and after the reunification in 1990 to the parliamentary election
in Germany in 2005, as a result of which Angela Merkel became a new
chancellor. There is no doubt that for Poland and Germany it was one of
the most difficult stages in their history. It was also an exceptional time in
Polish-German relations, as well as a time of great international events in
Europe and the world which had a significant impact on foreign policies of
both these countries and on Polish-German relations. This article was written
in a chronological-problematic arrangement and consists of two parts. The
first part covers the years 1989–1998 and shows the development of the treaty
bases of Polish-German relations and their normalisation and development at
this time. The second part contains the analysis of Polish-German relations
in 1998–2005, with particular emphasis on their continuity and changes and
their reasons. The period 1998–2005 was the time of the SPD – the Alliance
90/the Greens government coalition in Germany, and the SLD – PSL
coalition in Poland. The main thesis of the article is the conclusion that in
the years 1989–2005 in Polish-German relations we dealt with their difficult
normalisation, continuation and at the same time significant changes, not
always favourable for Poland, especially in 1998–2005.