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Former German Eastern Territories

The former German Eastern Territories refer to the territories east of the Oder-Neisse-line, which were part of the German Empire in 1937. These territories had been settled by German speaking settlers sometimes over centuries. At the Potsdam Conference in 1945, these territories were officially recognised as new territories of Poland. Most Germans were expelled from these territories in 1945, many had fled the Soviet troops and left the territories prior to the expulsion. The GDR recognised the Oder-Neisse-line as Poland’s west border already in 1950 with the Treaty of Zgorzelec, the FRG recognised the border in 1970 with the treaty of Warsaw. With the Two Plus Four Agreement of 1991, the reunified German state recognised the borders definitively.