How Germany and Poland rebooted relations 35 years ago

On June 17, 1991, Polish Prime Minister Jan Krzysztof Bielecki and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl met in Bonn — then the seat of the German government — to sign the Treaty between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Poland on Good Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation.

The agreement marked a new beginning in Polish-German relations after decades of enmity and mistrust.

Thirty-five years later, on June 17, 2026, both states — which are now close partners in the European Union and NATO — will mark the anniversary of the signing at a major event in Berlin, the German Polish Forum.

'Foundation of the new order in Europe'

The Polish Senate, the upper house of the Polish parliament, last Wednesday praised the treaty as a "foundation of the new order in Europe after the collapse of the Iron Curtain" and a "breakthrough" in Polish-German relations.