NATALIA JACKOWSKA: The Border controversy between the Polish People’s Republic and the German in the Pomeranian Bay

7/28/2019 NATALIA JACKOWSKA: The Border controversy between the Polish Peoples Republic and the German in the Pomer

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PRZEGLD ZACHODNI2008, No 3

NAtALIA JACkOwskAPozna

The Border conTroversy BeTween The Polish PeoPles

rePuBlic and The German democraTic rePuBlic

in The Pomeranian Bay

The Border conTroversy in The Pomeranian Bay

the collape of he communi yem and he aboliion of he diviion i hadimpoed in Europe a ymbolized by he Berlin wall ha direced he aenion ofhiorian and analy of inernaional relaion oard udie ino he realiy oflife ihin he yem of all-embracing conrol and planning, a ell a ino heprocee, hich conrary o he yem mechanic have led o an erupion of dem-ocraic and liberaing endencie in Europe by he end of he 20 h cenury. the ar-chive, hich are being opened ihou much hae, allo for an increaingly morecomprehenive analyi of he poliical deerminan and everyday life under he ruleof he regime. the procee of democraizaion and ranformaion in he counrie

hich ere formerly under he rule of he kremlin are being analyzed hrough heprim of heir naional idioyncray and heir poiion in he ociali bloc. theunprecedened cae of he border conic beeen he o counrie belonging ohe ociali bloc ha i he dipue beeen he Polih People Republic and heGerman Democraic Republic concerning he Pomeranian Bay ill remain lilenon. Recenly he conrovery a recouned by tomaz leporoi1, hoepublicaion offer a reconrucion of he genei and he coure of he dipue, aell a he reacion oard he conic on he par of he auhoriie and he localcommuniie of weern Pomerania. the auhor poin ou ha even a he ime of i

ecalaion (1985-1989), he dipue a reaed a a local irriaion, herea in real-iy i had all he characeriic of an inernaional cale border conic. the aiudeof he regional auhoriie, inerpellaion of he MP from he region ubmied ohe parliamen, and even he effor made by he church auhoriie in he szczecinarea all aimed a having he imporance of he problem recognized and maing hecenral auhoriie ry o olve he problem.

1 see: t. leporoi, NRD kontra PRL [GDR couter Poland], in: Biuleyn Inyuu PamiciNarodoej No. 9-10/2005, p. 90-99, and Konikt w Zatoce Pomorskiej (1985-1989)[Conict in the

Pomeranian Bay (1985-1989)], in: B. keri, A. koula, k. wycici, Przyja nakazana? Stosunkimidzy NRD i Polsk w latach 1949-1990, szczecin 2003, p. 87-94.


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104 Naalia Jacoa

Informaion abou he Polih-Ea German dipue i dipered in aricle pub-lihed moly in journal and hee focu mo frequenly on he analyi of he legalanding of he reay, a ell a on he reconrucion of he coure of he dipue in

he year 1985-1989. Hoever, vieing he dipue again a ider bacdrop of hePolih-Ea German relaion in he 1980 appear equally inereing. I eem haby aing ino accoun he poliical and ideological realiie in he ociali bloc, aell a he relaion beeen he bloc counrie, epecially he GDR, he UssR andPoland ih he Federal Republic of Germany, i i poible o evaluae he conicin he Pomeranian Bay and o formulae hypohee concerning he caue of i eca-laion and he unexpeced rapid concluion of he conic. thi i preciely he aimof he preen aricle. Neverhele, i hould be noed ha he Pomeranian incidencan be analyzed in oher ay, for example from he perpecive of he economicpoenial in he Balic sea area in he 1980 hich ould accoun for he rade andrani roue o he sovie Union, including among oher he invemen in he EaGerman por of Muran.

tHE GENEsIs AND tHE OBJECt OF tHE DIsPUtE

the Genei of he conrovery goe bac o he deciion of he Podam Con-ference by hich Poland received he complex of por in szczecin and inoujcieihou he demarcaion of he erriorial aer in he Pomeranian Bay. the bor-

derline a generally dran along he Oder and Luaian Neie river forming heland border ea of he line from he Balic sea and direcly e of inoujcieand hen along he river Oder bu here a no menion of he Pomeranian Bay2.Alo in sepember 1945 he mixed Polih-sovie commiion for he delimiaion ofhe border did no regard ielf compeen enough o preciely divide he ea aer.the ording, direcly e of inoujcie did no leave room for any manoeu-vring in he condiion of he local layou of he land. the r po-ar preiden ofszczecin, Pior Zaremba hen decribing he or of he delimiaion commiionmenioned conidering he poibiliy of dividing he mall on of Ahlbec, hicha nally rejeced for he ae of draing he borderline along he eern borderof he on of inoujcie. the commiion a aare of he conequence ha hedelimiaion of he land borderline ould have for i ea ecion.

2 The Agreement made by the heads of governments of the United States of America, United King-dom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics concerning

the western Polish border, Podam, 2 Augu 1945, quoed afer: k. subizei,Zachodnia granicapolski w wietle traktatw, Pozna 1975, p. 330. the ame formulaion decribing he borderline in hePomeranian Bay a repeaed in he Zgorzelec treay beeen Poland and Ea Germany from 6 July

1950, and in he reay beeen Poland and we Germany concerning he normalizaion of heir muualrelaion igned on 7 December 1970.


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105the Border Conrovery in he Pomeranian Bay

when formulaing he border ac he queion of he demarcaion line in he ea aer araied ince he erriorial aer ere reching [a he ime added by N.J.] over he convenionaldiance of 3 nauical mile. thi could caue ambiguiy hen conidering he concave horelineof he Pomeranian Bay beeen he ina rai and he conac poin beeen he land border and

he ea. Our aim a o have he enire roadead of he inoujcie por ihin Poland errio-rial aer. Hoever, he problem a no decided by he commiion hich did no regard ielfcompeen enough o demarcae he ea ecion of he border3.

the unconcern of he cenral auhoriie ih he maer a nohing ne. sincehe end of he ar szczecin a lef o i on device no only ih repec o e-ing up i adminiraion or enuring he baic condiion for he funcioning of heciy afer he ar aciviie had ceaed bu alo in erm of ecuring he border andhe funcioning of he ea por. A i i recalled by Pior Zaremba he Miniry ofMariime Navigaion did no ho any inere in he fae of he ea por of szczecin

and inoujcie hroughou he hole of 1945.the reoluion of he Podam Conference in hi maer ere repeaed in he

Zgorzelec treay beeen Poland and Ea Germany igned on 6 July 1950; omechange ere inroduced by he Franfur Ac of 27 January 1951 including he ad-jumen of he mixed commiion. I a preciely hi documen hich inroduceda ligh readjumen o he advanage of Poland ih repec o he acce roue ohe por of inoujcie. the Franfur Ac a of imporance o Polih inere be-caue i, in fac expreed he recogniion of boh ide of he agreemen concerninghe pecial circumance preen in he Pomeranian Bay hich alloed o be ex-

emp from he convenional principle of mariime border delimiaion, namely hemedian-line principle. A he ame ime hoever, he eane of he documen ain he incomprehenible end poin of he mariime border, he o called poin A/13(540142 laiude N and 141516 longiude E), hoe locaion (6 nauical milefrom he eahore ha i according o he hen acceped rule 3 mile ouide of heerriorial aer in open ea) a unfavourable for Polih economic inere andhe reaon of he ae. the borderline ea of he axi of he acce roue o he porof szczecin/inoujcie lef a par of he acce roue and one of he anchorage ouof Polih erriorial aer. thi aypical locaion of he poin A/13 a according ohe available ource a reul of he aleraion of he land borderline; ince he aer

inae by he lae wolga ere incorporaed ino Poland, he German ide receivedcompenaion of heir urface in he area reching from he aer inae and hehoreline of he Pomeranian Bay. thi exchange reuled in a deviaion of he landfronier of hich he marine border a an exenion4.

thi erroneou aemen in he Franfur Ac became one of he fundamenalargumen of he Ea German ide in he laer age of he dipue. In he folloingyear he Polih ide did no mae ue of oher occaion o ecure he borderline

3 P. Zaremba, Walka o polski Szczecin [The Battle for a Polish Szczecin], wroca 1986, p. 339.4 k. Podgri,Drang nach Szczecin, Zezyy Hioryczne Iue 88, Pari 1989, p. 40-41.


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106 Naalia Jacoa

according o i on inere. Quie on he conrary, in he agreemen on he divi-ion of he coninenal helf from 1968 i alloed for a aemen abou he diviionaccording o he median-line principle, ha i o ay i illingly ancioned having

he anchorage and par of he acce roue locaed on German aer5

. the aempo unilaerally regulae he dipuable queion a made on 17 December 1977 byhree regulaion paed by he Polih parliamen concerning he boundarie and eahing zone6. Ye, he regulaion expanding he erriorial ea boundarie o 12 nau-ical mile lef a loophole by leaving he regulaion of he ideline mariime borderunil laer bilaeral agreemen. In fac here a no change concerning he dipu-able iue herea ve year laer a imilar regulaion concerning he Ea Germanae borderline7 and i execuive ac8 deermined (alo unilaerally) he borderlinein he Pomeranian Bay.

A hi poin i need o be brough o aenion ha he Ea German ide becameinvolved in uch aciviy concerning he iue of dividing i erriorial aer onlyih reference o Poland; i ae only a glance a he map o realize ha a much morecomplex iuaion concerned he borderline ih we Germany and Denmar herenaural condiion do no allo for he full ue of he 12 mile zone by each counry.travemnde locaed on he border ogeher ih he acce o he por of Lbec andhe Danih por of Geder have a much more difcul acce o he open ea. Ye,Ea Germany did no ae any acion hich ould hreaen he freedom of ea navi-gaion eiher oard we Germany or Denmar, and i demarcaed he borderlineof i erriorial ea cloer han 12 nauical mile.

A i i argued by Januz Gila, a delimiaion effeced by a unilaeral ac houldbe baed on he median-line principle9. since hoever, in he cae of he Polih-EaGerman border he Franfur Ac had already inroduced pecial regulaion, he i-ue hould become ubjec o bilaeral negoiaion. thi hoever, a no he caeand he Ea German legal ac deermined he borderline ih he ue of he poinA/13, hich a unfavourable for Poland, and hich in pracice provided a hreaha from he day of he regulaion becoming effecive, on 1 January 1985 he por

5Agreement between the Polish Peoples Republic and the German Democratic Republic concern-ing the delimitation of the continental shelf on the Baltic Sea, drafted in Berlin on 29 October 1968,

Dzienni Ua[Journal of Legal Ac] 1969 No.15, iem 106.6Act from 17 December 1977 concerning the territorial sea of the Polish Peoples Republic, Dzien-

ni Ua 1977 No. 37 iem 162,Act from 17 December 1977 concerning the Polish sea shery zone,Dzienni Ua 1977 No. 37 iem 163 andAct from 17 December 1977 concerning the continental shelfof the Polish Peoples Republic, Dzienni Ua 1977 No. 37 iem 164.

7 Gesetz ber die Staatsgrenze der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, 25 March 1982, Geez-bla der Deuchen Demoraichen Republi 1982 teil II, p. 197.

8 the o called 2. Durchfhrungsverordnung (2. Grenzverordnung), 20 December 1984, Geez-bla der Deuchen Demoraichen Republi 1984 teil I, p. 441.

9 J. Gila,Prawne problemy delimitacji wd terytorialnych w Zatoce Pomorskiej [Legal problems

with the delimitation of territorial waters in the Pomeranian Bay, Przegld Zachodni No. 1/1990,p. 55-56.


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of szczecin and inoujcie ould be deprived of acce o he open ea. the acceroue ould be hen on Ea Germany erriory and ee navigaion along oher nodeepened roue in he Pomeranian Bay ould be impoible for larger veel.

PRECEDENCE OR PREMEDItAtED ACtION?

there i no doub a o he erioune of he conrovery in he Pomeranian Bayand i ignicance for economic ecuriy, acce o he ea por and o he Oderregion, and for he eae of Poland mariime economy. the aer acce roue oinoujcie coninuouly deepened and mainained a a large co and he anchor-age provided all he circumance of pecial condiion hich juied he de-limiaion of he borderline in a manner divergen from he convenionally acceped

principle of inernaional la. Poland could have ued hee circumance a anargumen alhough heir imporance exceeded i excluive economic inere. theanchorage locaed e of he borderline demarcaed by Ea Germany ere uedfor unloading by 75,000 - 100,000-onnage hip hich ferried o oher por, andhe area a enered in he inernaional record concerning ea navigaion. Onlyhe ue of he Pomeranian Bay for herie coniued an excluively Polih iner-e10, herea he remaining facor decided abou he upranaional characer ofhe inere hich inereced in he dipuable area; he ea por of szczecin andinoujcie a he only one in he Pomeranian Bay are of deciive imporance forhe rani no only from he Oder bain bu alo from he counrie hich hare heDanube river bain.

Hoever, i i orh o loo a he border conrovery beeen he GDR and Po-land from a ider perpecive of he inernaional relaion beeen boh counrie.

when in he lae 1940 he diviion of Germany a becoming a permanenfeaure of European order, in he eaern occupaion zone, hich a iniially reaedby he sovie Union a a ar rophy, inernaional elemen became o be empha-ized hile in Poland he difference beeen he revanchi we Germany and EaGermany involved in he creaion of people democracy ere underlined. when in1949 o German ae ere eablihed in he occupaion zone Poland reaed

hi fac a a pracical guaranee for he borderline dran by he Podam Confer-ence. Afer all, Ea Germany coniued a naural buffer eparaing Poland fromhe we and heir join memberhip in he pac ubordinae o he kremlin alloedo rule ou he poibiliy of even a hypoheical aleraion of he border ihou heconen of he eaern poer. the rheoric of he allied uniy of poliical objeciveand declaraion of friendhip and fraerniy beeen communiie became an indexof ofcial relaion in hich he poliical line of ae auhoriie a convergenih he ideology of he ruling poliical parie: the Polih Unied worer Pary(PZPR) and he sociali Uniy Pary of Germany (sED). Afer he Zgorzelec treay

10 Cf. ibidem, p. 57-58.


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108 Naalia Jacoa

he fac ha he Ea German ae repeced he border on he Oder and LuaianNeie river a a fundamenal ource of Polih uppor for he eablihmen of

GDR. Hoever, a fe year laer he even of Ocober 1956 and he relaive, a

for he wara Pac counrie, poliical independence of Poland under he rule ofwadya Gomuka ared o raie diru on he par of Ea Germany. In 1957

he Polih Embay in Berlin repored ha, there i a convicion ha Poland

undereimae he danger of he we German policy and ha Poland i more in-

ereed in having cloer relaion ih we Germany han in deeper cooperaion

ih he GDR. there are alo upicion ha Poland by having received American

loan mu have agreed o ome undicloed poliical erm11. the change in he

bilaeral relaion a characerized by he complexe on boh ide of he ae-

enran in he inernaionali fraerniy. Poland ared o noice in i eern

neighbour a criical oberver and commenaor of i acion (boh in he inerna-

ional arena and a home) hile Ea Germany ared o upec ha Poland i

reaing i exience a emporary.

Amplifying uch emoion and heir impac on he relaion beeen he coun-

rie a a par of a broader proce bohering he ae of real ocialim hich,

conrary o he voiced declaraion of cooperaion and fraerniy, plunged ino he

void caued by he lack of freedom of hough and being encloed in he realm of

ideal frequenly dead and gone and irrelevan for he exiing condiion of de-

velopmen in poliical and inernaional relaion. In he cae of Ea Germany he

faihfulne o he ideology i had adoped alloed for a denial of he legacy of Na-

ional socialim and he reponibiliy for he ar, and creaed an image of a arcounry of he enire eaern bloc. the unqueionable uccee in hi repec

ere ued in he early 1970 hen he end of he waler Ulbrich era and he akeo-

ver of poer by Erich Honecker coincided ih he ime of enforcing he heory

abou he exience of o German naion. In vie of he hrea of a crii he need

o renghen he Ea German legal validiy a expreed in a hei abou he

emergence in he GDR of a ociali naion hoe ociali naional conciou-

ne allo o develop ideological ideniy hich, unlike for oher wara Pac

member counrie, a i deiny becaue of he lack of he deeply rooed naional

ideniy12

. the role of he GDR in he wara Pac a for he sED leaderhip andi ideologi, ho afer all ere legiimized o ake acion and make declaraion

on behalf of he ae and i ociey, a one of he available mean o ho heir

achievemen in he compeiion ih we Germany, o demonrae i groing

par in he relaion beeen Ea and we, and o renghen he effecivene of

he ideological ideniy, hich a in fac a prohei of aehood.

11 Quoed afer: M. tomala,Bilans ocjalnych stosunkw pomidzy NRD i Polsk [Balance of of-cial relations between GDR and Poland], in: B. keri, A. koula, k. wycici, op. ci., p. 75.

12 H. A. winler,Duga droga na Zachd. Dzieje Niemiec [Long road West. History of Germany],vol. II 1933-1990, wroca 2007, p. 324-325, 421.


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Hoever, haping hi image and he poiion of Ea Germany in Europeanpoliic a no only he prioriy for he Ea German hemelve. when ogeherih he renghening of he poiion of we Germany in he inegraive rucure

of he European Economic Communiy and he defence reay of he Norh AlanicPac i became clear ha he unicaion of Germany, epecially according o heEa German concepion a being poponed, he effor of i eaern allie ereredireced o uppor and empoer he GDR. Ea Germany a o funcion aa ymbolic diplay indo for he achievemen of real ocialim, and in polii-cal erm i a uppoed o hamper he unicaion endencie hich appeared inwe Germany. the ord uered by Leonid Brezhnev, we have o be friend ihhe GDR here 17 o 18 million German people are for ocialim. I i our greapo-ar achievemen, mared he direcion for he governmen led by EdardGiere afer he era of enion and diru beeen wadya Gomua and walerUlbrich13 a cloed. the pecial inere of Poland a i cloe neighbour meanha he role of Ea Germany a a guaranor of he borderline eablihed in Podama emphaized hroughou he enire period of i exience. the raegy of henormalizaion of he relaion beeen Poland and we Germany a dependan onhe regulaion of relaion beeen boh German ae. Indicaion of inernaionalrecogniion of he eparae GDR aehood ere cononan ih he sED ideologyha a developed around hi logan.

the diru exhibied by Ea Germany oard Poland in he 1980 a noonly a reacion o he eablihmen of solidarno and poulae i ariculaed.

I hould be raher regarded a a climax of he proce hich had been developingince he lae 1950. Paradoxically i may eem Poland ielf had he lea inuenceon he climae in he relaion beeen Ea Germany and Poland. the diplomaicconrovery around he borderline in he Pomeranian Bay, hich aumed nearly heform of an open conic, appeared o be a perfecly ued occaion o again manifehe renghening of Ea Germany poiion a a member of he eaern bloc andi ignicance a a ae of he ociali naion. thee effor ere alo relaedo he naure of German-German relaion and he policy of dene conduced byHelmu schmid, hich a baed on he recogniion of he po-arstatus quoin Europe. the opinion expreed by he ocial-democraic journali, Gner Gauha weern Europe o urvive need a able Eaern Europe eemed a difculo agree ih he realiy a predicion forecaing an evoluionary ranformaionin Eaern Europe14. the fear of an unconrolled coure of even in he hear ofhe divided coninen mean ha depie he change of he ruling coaliion in Bonnand he aeover of poer by he CDU/CsU under chancellor Helmu kohl, hereconciliaory geure oard Ea Germany ere coninued. the loan orh bil-

13 see: B. kozel,Midzy dogmatyzmem a pragmatyzmem (1971-1989) [Between dogmatism andpragmatism (1971-1989)], in: A. wolff-Poa (ed.),Polacy wobec Niemcw. Z dziejw kultury poli-

tycznej Polski 1945-1989, Pozna 1993, p. 122.14 H. A. winler, op. ci., p. 383-385.


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110 Naalia Jacoa

lion DM hich became available o Ea Germany han o he effor made byFranz Joeph srau indeed aved Ea Germany from banrupcy in vie of hereducion of oil upply from he sovie Union. sill, Honecer unmoved by hee

ympom coninued hi conervaive policy oard we Germany uing a a pre-ex he deploymen of American medium-range miile in we Germany. thegovernmen under kohl, among oher, ried o liberae he rigor of movemen onhe German-German border a a reacion o he repeiive cae of faaliie reporedduring aemp o cro he border illegally. sill, in he mid 1980 he real meaureof he effor made o encourage he GDR o ener ino more open German-Germanrelaion a he fac ha even he conac on he highe level oo place only onhe occaion of boh governmenal delegaion meeing in Moco for he funeralcelebraion of he conecuive sovie leader. I a preciely on uch an occaionha on 12 March 1985 E. Honecer and H. kohl iued a join aemen in hichhey declared ha he cornerone of preerving European peace i coniued by heinviolabiliy of border and repec for he erriorial inegriy and overeigny ofall he European counrie ihin heir preen border15. such formulaion, elf-eviden for Bonn, ere reaed in Berlin a furher evidence of he recogniion bywe Germany of he eparae Ea German aehood. Evenually, E Honecervii o he Federal Republic of Germany beeen 7 and 11 sepember 1987 conrib-ued o hi improved poiion among we German public opinion, hich a henmore illing o minimize he fundamenal difference beeen he poliical yemin boh German ae. the GDR conidered i a ucce o have i eparae ae-

hood recognized by he Bonn governmen, alhough i a aen ino accoun haa furher normalizaion in he relaion beeen Ea Germany and we Germanymigh inigae a pree of far-reaching expecaion, hich ere ariculaed alo byi on ciizen and hich could hae i poliical foundaion.

Hoever, reaching hi level of accepance of i aehood by Ea Germanycoincided ih he ime of poliical openne and ranformaion aen up by MihailGorbachev, hich iniiaed he deconrucion of he yem of he kremlin domi-nance. the ocial movemen hich ih an increaingly louder voice ere expre-ing he need o enlarge he range of civil righ in he counrie of he people de-

mocracy reached a dynamic hich a difcul o hide from heir on ocieie andfrom inernaional public opinion. In hi iuaion he raegy adoped by he GDRauhoriie had o aim no only a mainaining he ruling governmen bu, perhapr of all a prevening a fundamenal poliical crii, hich neverhele occurredno only in a ponaneou bu in a ma-cale manner. while in every oher counryof he people democracy naional ideniy coniued ae inegriy and providedhe common plaform lining he ruling auhoriie ih ociey, in Ea Germany

15 Ibidem, p. 417-418.


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i a an aricial creaion. In hi conex aing a ric poliical coure a an a-emp o op he procee hich in conequence hoed a radically differen ou-come from he GDR reaon of he ae creaed by E. Honecer governmen.

the conic ih Poland, hich a he ime a aing place no only in ofcialcabine and ofce bu on he Balic aer, a o demonrae he real capaciieof Ea German elf-deerminaion. I migh have been reaed by he auhoriiea an elemen of a poliical game uaining he aricial ideniy of Ea Germany.Hoever, i eem ha he German ide evaluaed i poliical poenial oo haily.Uing he eaening of Poland poiion among he wara Pac counrie cauedby he eablihmen of solidarno and he marial la ih i poliical cone-quence, Ea Germany overeimaed i capaciy. the difference in he poenialeemed o be a Poland advanage. thi a underlined by he opinion formulaedih reference o he border dipue on he Balic ea hich accouned for he efformade by E. Honecer governmen o recognize he equal legal and poliical auof boh German ae a decribed above. Bogdan Dopieraa, a szczecin hiorianroe in hi diary on 30 November 1987,

A he momen Ea Germany need he Polih uppor o obain a full legal inernaional rec-ogniion from we Germany, and becaue of ha i i addiionally dependen on Poland in he ayin hich e can demand a compenaion for our uppor. () In he ligh of he o far experiencehe Polih reaon of he ae require a permanen exience of he GDR ae bu i hould neverbe oo rong a counry. Hoever, i hould coninuouly care abou Poland help and uppor.I hould no ha for uch uppor i ill alay have o pay People Poland16.

the harh poliical drive coninued by Ea Germany depie he ign referringo he change, hich had been aing place in he sovie Union ince M. Gorbachevcame o poer, could reul raher in diminihing he imporance of Ea Germanyand minimizing i poiion in he ociali bloc.

the fac ha hi did no happen on he occaion of he border dipue a de-cided by he carelene of he Polih ide. Ignoring he ign indicaing he aempo expand he erriorial aer o he diadvanage of he complex of he por ofszczecin-inoujcie (he reoluion from 1982 providing a direcive for he EaGerman Council of Minier o iue an execuive ac o aler he zone of he er-riorial aer a uch a ign), and hen complee diregard and lac of informaionhoing adminiraive and diplomaic paiviy demonraed he cale of neglecof he fundamenal naional and economic inere of Poland. In paing, i can benoed ha if he ecalaion of he dipue i regarded a a direc counercharge ofEa Germany oard Poland a a rebelliou ally in he wara Pac, hen EaGermany could have aen hi opporuniy direcly afer he reoluion abou he

16 Quoed afer: t. leporoi, Stanowisko elit politycznych i naukowych Pomorza Zachodniegowobec koniktu midzy PRL a NRD w Zatoce Pomorskiej (1985-1989) [Attitude of political and intel-

lectual elites of Western Pomerania towards the Polish - East German conict in the Pomeranian Bay(1985-1989)], Zapii Hioryczne No. 3-4/2000, p. 147-148.


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112 Naalia Jacoa

ae border from 1982 became effecive, and hi ould coincide ih he marialla in Poland. Hoever, reoring o i hree year laer gave evidence of a coldlycalculaed aemp o eaen he economic imporance of szczecin/inoujcie.

the por of Muran creaed a he ime in Rugia, hich a able o provide ervicefor he rail and ferry rafc o klaipeda amouning o 80,000 rail carriage per year(hich coniued half of he expor o he sovie Union), could have effecivelyeliminaed Poland a a rani roue beeen Ea Germany and he sovie Union 17.Depie he opporuniie hich exied ihin he Council for Muual EconomicAiance a early a a he age of planning he invemen, he Polih governmendid no objec o marginalizing he e Pomeranian por. Aleraion ihin heerriorial aer zone could in pracice mae hee por unavailable for deep aerhip and o no compeiive in he Balic.

EsCALAtION AND CONCLUsION OF tHE DIsPUtE

when afer 1 January 1985 he acce roue and he anchorage ere ofciallylocaed in he erriorial aer of Ea Germany, he poible oluion o he iua-ion faced by he Polih auhoriie could be decribed a peculiar. the alarm raiedby he local auhoriie and mariime adminiraion in szczecin, hich iniially hadbeen in vain, only a lae a 20 February 1985 reuled in a diplomaic noe iuedby he Polih governmen expreing a lac of recogniion of he unilaeral deciionmade by Ea Germany. there a a poibiliy of ubmiing he cae o be decidedon by he Inernaional Cour of Juice ih he high probabiliy ha he deciionould be benecial for Poland. thi hoever, ould coniue an unprecedenedmanifeaion of he lac of uniy among he ociali ae. Ye, wara did nomae ue of hi poibiliy even a a mean of puing unofcial preure on Berlin.Inead i a uggeed ha he erriorial aer hould be divided according o hemedian-line principle, and hi ould ancion a bigger par of he capure alreadyappropriaed by Ea Germany. Anoher idea, hich a even more difcul o ju-ify in a raional ay, a a propoal o give up he area of he acce roue and heanchorage under he condiion ha he co of i conrucion and mainenance or

hould be reurned and Poland could coninue o ue hem (?!), or building a neanchorage and acce roue o inoujcie from he ide of aica Odrzana. thiih repec o he exiing naural condiion ould require inconceivable nancialreource, hich ere eimaed only for he mainenance of hee faciliie a fouror ve ime higher han he co of he dipuable acce roue18.

the aiude of he local auhoriie in szczecin and he cenral auhoriie inwara a characerized by heir deire o conceal from he general public he facha a dipue exied and he argumen hich ere ued in he aemp o olve i. I

17 k. Podgri, op. ci., p. 52.18 Ibidem, p. 54-56.


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i difcul o nd any ympom of rouble in he ofcial line of policy repreenedby wara. On 16 sepember 1986 during he PZPR elecion conference proceed-ing in Zielona Gra wojciech Jaruzeli declared aying ha today he borderline

beeen he Polih People Republic and he German Democraic Republic runno far from Zielona Gra. I i a border of peace and quie, of friendhip and co-operaion hich unie o ociali ae. I i a huge achievemen of our naion,and a he ame ime one of he major componen of European peaceful order andan inrucive example of overcoming hiorically layered rauma and diru19.the emphai pu on he imporance of cooperaion beeen border region oundedalmo ironical in he peech a ell a a menion of he revanchi on duy fromwe Germany, hich belonged o he canon of he People Poland rheoric.

A he ame ime he aciviie performed in he ea by he Ea German parolboa had all he feaure of piracy hich pu in danger no only he eae of hip-ping bu alo poed a hrea o he afey of mall por boa ailing according ohe inernaional mariime la along he coaline. there ere even ome incidenof yach being rammed by unmared German veel. Proe led in he GermanEmbay by he yach capain did no bring any effec and neiher did hey in heuppor of he Polih Foreign Ofce. On he oher hand, he aemp o appropriaeanchorage nr 3 and he acce roue, locaed according o he Ea German la afer1 January 1985 on he erriorial aer of ha counry, ere ignored by he capainof conainer hip and mall parol boa could no do much abou i. Alogeherhe number of ea inciden repored in he four year of he conic i eimaed a

180

20

.the exper al held a he cenral level in 1986 beeen he cabine of Zbig-nie Mener and willi soph did no bring a oluion. Hoever, he Polih idereaed he maer eriouly enough no o conider a propoal o eablih a condo-minium over he dipuable area; he Polih ance a caegorical and, a i aaed in aide-mmoire from 30 January 1987, aimed a having he acce roue ohe por and he anchorage enirely in he area of Polih erriorial aer21. sincehere a no propec of reaching an agreemen, he al ere moved o he polii-cal level in he folloing year. the German ide a repreened by Hermann Axen,a former chief edior of he ruling pary nepaper, Neue Deuchland, and laeron a member of sED Cenral Commiee. since he end of he 1960 he a con-idered o be he archiec of Ea German foreign policy, among oher reponiblefor he preparaion of E. Honecer vii o eern counrie. the Polih ide arepreened by Jzef Czyre, he former foreign minier and a he ime he ecreary

19 Quoed afer: hp://.geociie.com/ojciech_jaruzeli/zielona.hml, ex according o:w. Jaruzeli,Przemwienia 1986 [Speeches 1986], warzaa 1987, p. 256-281.

20 thi number i given in tomaz leporoi analye, ee foonoe 1; a imilar accoun inearlier publicaion by karol Podgri in jurornal publihed on immigraion, ee foonoe 17.

21 see: B. Olchoy,Die SED im Drang nach Osten? Der Territorialgewsserstreit zwischen derDDR und Polen 1985 bis 1989, Deuchland Archiv No. 5/2001, p. 818.


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114 Naalia Jacoa

of he Cenral Commiee of PZPR and a member of he PZPR Cenral CommieePoliburo reponible for foreign affair. the argumen ued by he Ea Germanreferred o he ideology of he cla fraerniy of boh ae allied again he e

European hrea. H. Axen declared, among oher, he readine of he German odefend he border of he ociali Poland along he river Elbe (!). J. Czyre in hireply ued he argumen of he ill alive hiorical connoaion relaed o he idea ofhe corridor in erriorial dipue, hich canno be acceped ihou riing a loof public uppor for he ruling pary22. Czyre Line a inerpreed in Ea Ger-many a an expreion of Polih naionalim, herea in he condenial opinion ofadvior o general w. Jaruzeli in szczecin hich made effor o force wara oolve he conic Poland poiion, i a reaed a defeai.

the queion of heher in 1987 he Polih ruling pary (PZPR) really cared forhe public uppor reeced in he elecion remain debaable23. thi facor ho-ever, ared o change faer ha he progre made in al beeen Poland andEa Germany concerning he Pomeranian Bay. the cenorhip direcive o blocall he informaion concerning he dipue a no ufcien o eep he problemcompleely ecre. the preure exered by he opinion forming circle in Pomeraniaoo an unprecedened form in he hiory of he Polih People Republic hen helocal auhoriie, oppoiion leader and he church repreened by bihop kazimierzMajdai poe in union24. the paiviy of he cenral auhoriie lef szczecin oni on, and he public mood a reeced, among oher in he reul of he 1987referendum hich differed from oher region, or in hoing M. Gorbachev ho ar-

rived on a ae vii, and ho a perceived a a guaranor of he Polih reaon ofhe ae. Alo he fear of he pary execuive relaed o he groing poliical criihich led o he Round table al a no ihou ignicance. Polih negoiaorin heir al ih Ea Germany ued he argumen of he ri of inigaing ani-German feeling in Polih ociey, alhough he fear of criicim from he conolida-ing oppoiion a more prevalen.

In vie of he fac ha furher aemp o olve he dipue did no bring anyreul, he Pomeranian Bay iue became a opic of al beeen E. Honecer andw. Jaruzeli during a meeing in wroca on 24 June 1988. General w. Jaruzelirecall i a a al of la chance during hich he preened he iue in a principaland even dramaic ay25. the al beeen exper hich coninued in July 1988

22 Ibidem, p. 818-819.23 the even under dicuion occurred almo in he middle of he parliamenary erm of ofce

(1985-1989), hoever on 29 November 1987 a referendum conneced ih he o called econd ageof he reform oo place. Alhough he ubjec of he referendum diverged from he originally plannedpoliical change (inroducing he ofce of a preiden), i in realiy a an aemp o probe he poliicaluppor for he ruling auhoriie.

24 see: t. leporoi, Stanowisko elit politycznych i naukowych Pomorza..., p. 149-155.25 w. Jaruzeli,Historyczny wira [Historical tight bend], commenary for he eely Przegld

on he minue from al ih German poliician, in: hp://.geociie.com/ojciech_jaruzeli/Niemcy.hm.


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headed by Hermann schieau and wadya Napieraj did no run ihou prob-lem and he Polih ide ruled ou, among oher any change o he Franfur Acof 1951. the compromie eemed cloer afer he propoal included in a leer from

w. Jaruzeli o E. Honecer in hich i a uggeed ha Ea Germany ouldreceive, in reurn for having he borderline moved o he e of he acce roueand he anchorage, an area of he hery zone and of he coninenal helf o heea of he dipuable area. the la argumen ued by E. Honecer o mainain hiline of reaoning a he iue of he sovie cable running under he eabed beneahanchorage nr 3. Hoever, he Polih ide referring o he sovie exper opinionhoed a lac of he UssR raegic inere in he area26. Evenually, he agree-men igned on 22 May 1989 in Berlin by he foreign minier tadeuz Olechoiand Oar Ficher demarcaed he borderline of he erriorial ea, he coninenalhelf and he hery zone in line ih he propoed compromie in a ay ha heenire acce roue o he por of szczecin/inoujcie, a ell a he anchorageere locaed ihin he Polih erriorial aer or in open ea27.

the negoiaion ending he dipue over he delimiaion of erriorial aer de-veloped an unexpeced peed hich a difcul o expec afer he earlier ecalaionof he conic beeen 1985 and 1989. taing ino conideraion he nal conce-ion made by he Ea German ide, i i difcul o conclude ha he queion ofborder delimiaion a he only caue of he dipue. the ep aen by Ea Ger-many o unilaerally demarcae he borderline a he expene of neighbouring coun-rie ere no a reul of one deciion or an uninenional miae. I i alo difcul

o ee he only reaon for he conic in he illingne o ue he ocial and poliicalcrii in Poland in he 1980 o manife Ea Germany poiion a a faihful guardof ideology and poliical pracice in he wara Pac. thi ind of moivaion ouldrequire fundamenal uppor for Ea Germany acion from he sovie Union. Ai a, he climax of he conic beeen Poland and he GDR coincided ih heperiod of acceleraed change in he ruling elie of he kremlin, and evenuallyih he deconrucion of he auhoriarian order under he logan ofglasnostand

perestroika. the conervaive aiude of he Ea German auhoriie oard hechange laed unil he nal day of Honecer rule; croing ou he sovie journalspuni from he li of pre impored from he UssR a raned a a ymbolof hi aiude. M. Gorbachev recalled hi fuile aemp o convince E. Honecerabou he need o op impeding he proce of inroducing reform in he counryand in he pary. () Each ime I came again a all of lac of underanding28.the unqueionable ucce of he Ea German policy in he form of recogniionof he German dual aehood by we Germany and alo, no o much on he legal/

26 see: B. Olchoy, op. ci., p. 822-824.27Agreement between the Polish Peoples Republic and the German Democratic Republic con-

cerning the delimitation of sea areas in the Pomeranian Bay from 22 May 1989, Dzienni Ua 1989

No. 43 iem 233.28 M. Gorbachev, Wspomnienia [Memoirs], quoed afer: H. A. winler, op. ci., p. 476.


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116 Naalia Jacoa

inernaional bu on a poliical level by oher counrie a no dicouned a he imeof he breahrough. seeing aner o he queion heher i could have beenued o exend he exience of he GDR in he conex of he change hich oc-

curred in Europe in 1989 can only be done by enering a collecion of unued cripof hiory. Hoever, aing ino accoun he conervaive approach facor in he EaGerman policy in he lae 1980 allo o explain he quic change of aiude in hedipue over he Pomeranian Bay a heir illingne o uppor he poiion of hePolih pary leader in vie of approaching al ih he solidariy oppoiion.

A deailed and mulihreaded analyi by wodzimierz kalici include a ugge-ion ha he reaon for he udden change of he Ea German aiude in he dipueover he Pomeranian Bay a he informaion abou he coure of he plenary mee-ing of he Cenral Commiee of PZPR from 20-21 December 1988 hich reached E.Honecer. During he meeing w. Jaruzeli hreaened ih hi reignaion o con-vince he conervaive ing of he pary o ee agreemen ih he oppoiion. theviion of he allied force of pary liberal and solidariy oppoiion direced againhe GDR migh have peruaded he Berlin leader o mae conceion a a form ofaving he ideological comrade in wara29. the ord of he German negoiaorillingly voicing argumen abou he inernaionali fraerniy and allied rugglefor peace and ecuriy in he face of he hrea from he we appear in hi conexno necearily a an oudaed clich. For he Ea German pary elie he pligh foraying in poer a alo a ruggle o mainain he exience of he counry hichfuncioned a an expoiion for he enire ociali bloc. In Poland he pary execu-

ive did no appreciae he groing ri of loing heir poer or even heir exiingprivilege. the ord poen ex postby w. Jaruzeli read, If e ere poliicalplayer e ould have overblon he conic ih Ea Germany and mobilizedhe ociey around u under parioic ani-German logan. then e ould have lohe acce roue bu perhap no poer. Or in any ay much laer30. Ye, i doe noeem plauible ha he even relaed o he Pomeranian Bay could have opped heocial preure hich launched he poliical change in 1989.

the ne of igning he agreemen on 22 May 1989 coincided ih he nalpreparaion for he parliamenary elecion in reul of hich PZPR lo poer. sill,one furher manipulaion a performed namely he fac ha Poland gave up for hebene of Ea Germany he hery zone ea of sinoujcie a no dicloed. Al-hough he pre publihed he ex of he agreemen, hich hoever only includedhe geographical coordinae of he delimied area, he price of he compromie adifcul o noice for a lay peron. the map included in he publicaion did no havehe hery zone mared31, and he ofcial join communiqu afer w. Jaruzelivii o Berlin alhough lenghy included only one enence abou igning he agree-

29 see: w. kalici, Awantura o rynn [Row about the waterpipe], Gazea wyborcza 2-3 July1994, p. 16.

30 Ibidem, p. 14.31 Daily Rzeczpopolia 24-25 May 1989, p. 6.


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men. Even hen uch ne a accompanied by reaurance on he par of hehighe Foreign Ofce repreenaive ha he conic in he Pomeranian Bay hardlyoo place, and cerainly no on he cale repored by eern ma media32.

the dipue over he delimiaion of he Balic border beeen Poland and EaGermany ih i genei in he po-ar deciion of he vicoriou poer includedapec of economic and poliical inere, hich exceeded he eemingly rivialmaer of dividing erriorial aer. taing ino accoun he facor uch a he rea-on of he ae of Ea Germany and Poland, he aiude of we Germany and hebeginning of he poliical change in he sovie Union allo for a beer underand-ing of he even hich caued o much fruraion in szczecin in he lae 1980.the behaviour of he ae auhoriie and pary execuive boh in he GDR and inPoland, ho ere rying o defend heir inere, expoe he eanee of heideology and ae iniuion by he end of he era and heir lac of aarene ofhe approaching end. the poiion of Ea Germany call for a reecion on he ran-ience of he ideology of eparae aehood hich a buil up over many year,and for hich he lac of reacion o he impule of change coming from ouideproved perniciou.

32 Inervie ih wadya Napieraj, Rzeczpopolia 24-25 May 1989, p. 1, 6.


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Documents

NATALIA JACKOWSKA: The Border controversy between the Polish People’s Republic and the German in the Pomeranian Bay