The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, of the one part, and the Government of the French Republic, of the other part, desiring to establish a definitive arrangement for German war graves from the wars of 1914-18 and 1939-45 located on French territory, seeking to ensure the preservation and maintenance of these graves in a dignified manner, have agreed as follows:
Article 1
For the purposes of this Agreement:
(a) German war dead means:
members of the German armed forces, persons equated with them, persons of German nationality who died in connection with the hostilities of 1914/18 and 1939/45 and who, as far as the latter group and the last war are concerned, were protected by the 1929 Geneva Convention at the time of their death;
b) German war graves:
the graves of German war dead located on French territory;
c) German war cemeteries:
the cemeteries or parts of cemeteries containing only German war graves and located on land belonging to the French State; German honorary parts: the parts of municipal cemeteries specially reserved for German war graves.
Article 2
The Government of the French Republic shall ensure the protection of German war graves and the permanent right of rest for the German dead and shall endeavor to keep the surroundings of German war graves free from any installations incompatible with the dignity of these graves. The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany shall be authorized to maintain and decorate, at its own expense, German war graves on German war cemeteries and areas of honor on French territory. The Government of the French Republic shall be released from the day of the coming into force of the present Convention from all financial obligations for the maintenance and decoration of German war graves, in so far as these obligations have existed up to the present time. It shall, however, continue to be responsible for the maintenance and repair of German war graves outside of German war cemeteries and honorary areas.
Article 3
The Government of the French Republic shall leave the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany free to dispose of the land used for German war cemeteries at no cost and for an unlimited period of time. However, these sites remain the property of the French State and any changes to their boundaries deemed necessary in the future will be settled by direct agreement between the two Parties or the bodies designated by them. If, by agreement between the Parties, a site is no longer used, in whole or in part, for the purposes stated above, this change will result in the Federal Republic of Germany losing the right to use it.
Article 4
Should any of the sites on which German war graves are located be needed for any other use for imperative reasons of public policy, the Government of the French Republic shall make available to the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany other suitable sites and shall bear the costs of the reburial of the dead and the preparation of the new graves. The selection of the new site, its preparation and the implementation of the reburials shall be carried out by mutual agreement.
Article 5
The Government of the French Republic shall authorize the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany to carry out any reunification of graves of German war dead that the latter deems necessary, without any costs arising for the former and according to a plan to be submitted to it for prior approval. A record shall be made of each reburial, containing information about the old and new grave location, personal details, the inscription on the dog tag or other precise identification information. A copy of this record shall be sent to the Government of the French Republic.
Article 6
The exhumation and transfer of German war dead to the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany requires the prior consent of the government of the Federal Republic of Germany. The government of the French Republic will only allow these transfers after presentation of this consent and at the request of the government of the Federal Republic of Germany. All costs and fees for exhumation and transfer shall be borne by the applicants. The exhumation will take place in the presence of representatives of the French authorities, who will draw up a protocol. Requests for the transfer of German war dead to other countries will be submitted by the Government of the French Republic to the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany for its consent, in order to establish the identity of the dead person to be exhumed.
Article 7
The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany shall reimburse the Government of the French Republic for the maintenance costs of the graves of German soldiers currently buried in German honorary sections.
Article 8
The Government of the French Republic agrees that the German War Graves Commission (hereinafter referred to as the Commission) shall undertake the technical implementation of the tasks arising from this agreement on behalf of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Government of the French Republic shall grant every possible facility to this organization, in particular access to the records concerning German war graves at the Ministry of Veterans and War Victims. In order to carry out these tasks, the Volksbund may send representatives, specialists and other personnel to French territory or recruit them there and set up the necessary work premises. The names of the persons referred to in the previous paragraph shall be communicated, before their appointment, to the French government, which reserves the right to refuse them. The government of the French Republic shall assist the Volksbund in recruiting the necessary personnel.
Article 9
The Volksbund may import from the Federal Republic of Germany or from another member country of the European Economic Community equipment, means of transport, materials and supplies originating in these countries or in free circulation within the Community and necessary for the execution of all the work mentioned in this Agreement. The following applies to the customs clearance of these goods: equipment and means of transport that are temporarily imported are cleared for temporary use without a security upon import into France on a temporary importation certificate; the temporary importation certificates are valid for two years and can be renewed. These temporary importation certificates are discharged by re-exporting the said equipment and means of transport under customs supervision. Materials and accessories intended for the setting up, decorating or maintenance of graves, monuments or cemeteries shall remain free of import duties if the following are submitted to the customs authorities for regular import declaration: - an exact list of the imported goods; - a declaration of commitment signed by a duly authorized person stating that the said goods will only be used for the purposes provided for in this agreement. Goods not used in the manner described above must be re-exported or may exceptionally be subject to import duties. The Government of the French Republic will consider all requests for further tax relief, the granting of which is under consideration.
Article 10
The free disposition of the sites designated in Article 3 gives the Volksbund the authority to carry out all construction and beautification work on the German war gravesites, as well as the construction of suitable access roads, within the framework of the relevant French legislation. These works shall be exempt from all taxes and other charges. The execution of such works on the German honorary sections shall require the prior consent of the French Ministère des Anciens Combattants et Victimes de Guerre. The Volksbund shall, on the other hand, ensure that good health conditions are secured by means of suitable facilities, and shall comply with French legal and administrative provisions concerning cemetery regulations.
Article 11
The French personnel in service at the time of the entry into force of this Agreement shall continue to be responsible for the surveillance and maintenance of German war gravesites in accordance with the regulations applicable to such personnel and in line with the recommendations of the Volksbund. The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany shall reimburse the French Government annually for the costs incurred in maintaining this personnel. The Government of the French Republic shall communicate each year to the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany the amount of these costs, with all the details if it so requests. If necessary, the French authorities shall examine, in agreement with the Volksbund, the possibility of reducing these costs.
Article 12
The Government of the French Republic shall grant the next of kin (parents, widows - even if they have remarried -, children, brothers and sisters) of Germans who have died in war, for the purpose of visiting war graves on French territory, a 50% reduction on the cost of a return journey on French railways each year, in each case for the period from September 1 to June 30. The number of individual travelers eligible for this discount is set at 1,000 persons annually. The relevant French authorities will, if necessary, check whether the number can be increased at the request of the Volksbund. The details of these benefits shall be agreed directly between the relevant railway administrations.
Article 13
The details of the technical implementation of this agreement shall be settled directly between the German Commission and the competent French authorities.
Article 14
This agreement shall also apply to the Land of Berlin, unless the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany makes a statement to the contrary to the Government of the French Republic within three months of the entry into force of this agreement.
Article 15
The preservation and maintenance of German war graves from the war of 1870/71 on French sovereign territory will be regulated by an exchange of notes between the government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the government of the French Republic.
Article 16
All previous agreements concerning German war graves in France are hereby repealed and replaced by the present Convention, which shall come into force upon its signature.
Done at Paris, this 19th day of July 1966, in two copies, in the German and French languages, each text being equally authentic.
For the Government of the French Republic
For the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany