desiring to honor the victims of wars and tyranny resting on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany as well as on the territory of the Republic of Poland, endeavoring, in accordance with the provisions of applicable international humanitarian law, in particular the Geneva Conventions relative to the Protection of Victims of War of August 12, 1949, and the Additional Protocol of June 8, 1977, relative to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), and the Additional Protocol of June 8, 1977, relative to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II), to pay tribute to the resting places of the victims of wars and tyranny resting on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany and on the territory of the Republic of Poland. June 1977 on the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II), to preserve a dignified memory of the resting places of the victims of wars and tyranny and to protect these places, in the spirit of the Joint Declaration of November 14, 1989 and in implementation of Article 32 of June 17, 1991 between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Poland on good neighborliness and friendly cooperation - have agreed as follows:
Article 1
This Agreement shall govern all matters relating to the identification, documentation, registration, establishment, preservation, appropriate maintenance and protection of the resting places of the victims of wars and tyranny - Polish in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany and German in the territory of the Republic of Poland - as well as all matters relating to the exhumation of mortal remains and their dignified reburial.
Article 2
For the purposes of this Agreement, the following terms shall mean: 1. "German war dead": - members of the German armed forces, - persons treated as such under German law, - other persons of German nationality who died on the territory of the Republic of Poland as a result of the 1914-18 and 1939-1945 wars, 2. "German war graves": - the resting places of German war dead on the territory of the Republic of Poland, - the graves of German victims of tyranny on the territory of the Republic of Poland, 3. "German war cemeteries": the cemeteries or parts of cemeteries existing, locatable or to be newly established on the territory of the Republic of Poland, where predominantly German war dead are buried; 4. "Polish war dead":
- Members of the Polish armed forces, - persons treated as such under Polish law, - other persons of Polish nationality who died as a result of the wars of 1914-1918 and 1939-1945 on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, - Poles, who died on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany in the years 1939-1945 as a result of tyranny and in particular as prisoners in German detention, prisons, concentration camps and other camps and as a result of forced labor, - other persons of Polish nationality who died on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany in the years 1945-1949 as a result of the war;
5. "Polish war graves": - the resting places of Polish war dead located on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, the graves of Polish victims of tyranny located on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany; 6. "Polish war gravesites": the cemeteries or parts of cemeteries existing, locatable or to be newly established on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, in which predominantly Polish war dead are buried.
Article 3
(1) The Contracting Parties agree that the resting places of the victims of wars and tyranny shall be under the legal protection of the respective State on whose territory they are located.
(2) Memorials to the victims of war and tyranny which are not located on war cemeteries within the meaning of this Agreement shall enjoy the legal protection of the State on whose territory they are located.
Article 4
(1. The Parties shall ensure the protection of existing and locatable graves of victims of war and tyranny, unimpeded access to them and the permanent resting place of the war dead and of those who have fallen or died as a result of tyranny. The Contracting Parties shall make every effort to prevent the construction of objects or facilities in the vicinity of war cemeteries which are incompatible with the dignity of the site.
(2) The Contracting Parties shall be entitled to renovate, restore and maintain at their own expense the war graves and war cemeteries of the victims of wars and tyranny referred to in Article 2 of this Agreement and located on the territory of the other Contracting Party.
(3) The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany shall ensure, at its own expense, the preservation, renovation and maintenance of the Polish war graves and war cemeteries referred to in Article 2 of this Agreement on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany. (4) The Government of the Republic of Poland shall ensure, at its own expense, the preservation, renovation and maintenance of the German war graves and war cemeteries of those who died in the years 1914-1918 on the territory of the Republic of Poland, in accordance with the regulations on war graves and war cemeteries in force on the territory of the Republic of Poland.
Article 5
The Contracting Parties shall encourage the establishment of documentation, information or meeting facilities in the vicinity of war cemeteries as an element of education for mutual understanding and reconciliation.
Article 6
(1) The Parties mutually guarantee the right to use, free of charge, the areas serving as war cemeteries as permanent resting places for the victims of war and tyranny. (2) Property rights shall not be affected by this Agreement. Any changes to the boundaries of areas used as war cemeteries shall be settled in a spirit of mutual understanding between the Contracting Parties or the institutions and organizations responsible for the implementation of this Agreement.
(3) If both contracting parties are of the opinion that a site will no longer be used in whole or in part as a war cemetery, the previous right of use shall expire.
(4) Should a site on which a war cemetery or part thereof is located be required for other purposes due to an important interest of the State, the Contracting Party in whose territory the site is located shall change its boundaries or designate another suitable site and bear all costs for exhumation and reburial and for the establishment of the cemetery.
(5. The Parties shall consult with a view to reaching agreed decisions on the demarcation of new boundaries of a site or the selection of a new site for a war cemetery, the reburial of remains and the method of establishing a new war cemetery, including the relocation of graves.
Article 7
(1) The Contracting Parties shall permit each other, at no cost to themselves and after prior submission of plans for their approval, to combine the graves of victims of war and tyranny whose reburial is deemed necessary.
(2) The reburial of the mortal remains of German victims of war and tyranny shall be carried out by working groups appointed by the German side. The reburial of the mortal remains of Polish victims of war and tyranny shall be carried out by working groups appointed by the Polish side.
(3) Upon completion of the reburial work, a protocol shall be drawn up in which the old and the new grave location, the personal details of the exhumed person, the inscription of the identification marker and other existing objects enabling identification of the mortal remains shall be stated. The record shall also form the basis for the handover of the objects found with the exhumed mortal remains.
(4) Insofar as formerly existing war cemeteries no longer exist due to infrastructural changes and a reburial of the mortal remains is no longer possible, the Contracting Party in whose territory the war cemeteries were located shall permit the other Contracting Party, at its request and expense, to erect memorials in a dignified and locally suitable form. Where land must be made available for this purpose or the consent of local authorities must be obtained, each Party shall assist the other Party in making the appropriate applications and in carrying out this commemorative measure.
(5) Insofar as a temporary burial of the mortal remains of victims of war and tyranny is necessary in order to make possible a definitive burial in a war cemetery, the Contracting Party in whose territory they are found shall take measures for their dignified temporary burial and for the marking of the gravesites, in compliance with the regulations in force in the State concerned.
Article 8
Where German or Polish war gravesites contain graves of victims of wars and tyranny of other states in addition to German or Polish war graves, the Contracting Parties shall take this fact into account when deciding on the preservation and care of these graves.
Article 9
(1) The Government of the Republic of Poland shall commission the "Council for the Preservation of the Memory of Struggle and Martyrdom" (Rada Ochrony pamieci Walk i Meczenstwa) with its seat in Warsaw to carry out the tasks arising from this Agreement.
(2) The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany shall entrust the "Volksbund Deutsche Kriegräberfürsorge e.V." (Narodowy Zwiazek Niemieckiej Opieki nad Grobami Wojennymi), with its seat in Kassel, with the implementation of the tasks arising from this Agreement. (3) Another institution or organization may be entrusted with the implementation of this Agreement with the consent of the other Contracting Party.
Article 10
(1) The transfer of the mortal remains of German victims of war and tyranny from the territory of the Republic of Poland to the Federal Republic of Germany shall require the prior consent of the German side. The Polish side shall permit the repatriation of the mortal remains only with this consent. (2) The consent of the German side shall also be required for applications to the Polish side which have as their purpose the repatriation of the mortal remains of German victims of war and tyranny to third countries.
(3) Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall apply mutatis mutandis to the repatriation of the mortal remains of Polish victims of wars and tyranny to the Republic of Poland or to third countries.
(4) All costs and fees for the reburial and transfer abroad of the mortal remains of victims of wars and tyranny shall be borne by the applicants.
(5) Any changes to the resting place for the purpose of reburial and transfer of the mortal remains of victims of wars and tyranny shall be carried out by the competent professionals under the direct supervision of the institutions and organizations specified in Article 9 of this Agreement, in strict compliance with the legislation of the State on whose territory such changes take place.
Article 11
(1) The Contracting Parties undertake to exchange all available information on the location of the resting places, their number and size and the personal details of the victims of war and tyranny necessary to carry out their identification.
(2) The Contracting Parties shall provide all possible assistance to the institutions and organizations responsible for the implementation of this Agreement, in particular with regard to access to documents relating to victims of wars and tyranny of the other Contracting Party which are available now or in the future from the public authorities of their country.
Article 12
(1) In order to carry out the tasks arising under this Agreement, the institutions and organizations referred to in Article 9 of this Agreement may, in coordination with the other Party, send representatives and experts to its territory. (2) Work plans shall be coordinated between the institutions and organizations referred to in Article 9 of this Agreement.
(3. Each Party shall have the right to inspect the activities of the representatives and experts of the other Party without prior notice.
(4) The institutions and organizations referred to in Article 9 of this Agreement shall, as far as possible, use the services of local labour and equipment in the execution of their work arising from the implementation of this Agreement within the framework of free competition.
Article 13
(1. Equipment, means of transport and other materials necessary for the execution of the work resulting from this Agreement which are temporarily imported from the territory of one Party by the institutions and organizations referred to in Article 9 of this Agreement shall be exempt from all prior restraints, customs duties and related securities. 2. Equipment and means of transport temporarily imported into the territory of the other Party shall be cleared free of charge upon entry, subject to the proviso that the said equipment and means of transport shall be re-exported after completion of the work.
(3) Material intended for the construction, decoration or maintenance of the graves and cemeteries of the victims of wars and tyranny shall remain free of any import duties if, in addition to the regular customs declaration, the customs authorities are presented with: - a detailed list of the imported goods, - a declaration of commitment signed by a representative of one of the institutions or organizations referred to in Article 9 of this Agreement that the said goods will be used only for the purposes provided for in this Agreement.
Article 14
(1) The institutions and organizations responsible for the implementation of this Agreement shall be entitled to carry out directly, within the framework of the legislation of the other Party in force in the territory of the other Party, all the work of preparation, maintenance and construction of the cemeteries, including the construction of the infrastructure appropriate for their use.
(2) The institutions and organizations responsible for the implementation of this Agreement undertake to comply with the legislation in force in the territory of the other Contracting Party.
Article 15
Disputes concerning the interpretation or application of this Agreement shall be settled by negotiation between the competent authorities of the Contracting Parties.
Article 16
(1. The Contracting Parties shall notify each other through diplomatic channels that the necessary internal conditions for the entry into force of this Agreement have been fulfilled. The Agreement shall enter into force on the date of receipt of the later notification.
(2) This Agreement is concluded for an indefinite period. The Agreement may be terminated by either Party by notification. In this case, the Agreement shall cease to be in force twelve months after the date of receipt of the note of termination.
(3. Registration of this Agreement with the Secretariat of the United Nations in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations shall be effected without delay after its entry into force by the Contracting Party in whose territory this Agreement is signed. The other Contracting Party shall be informed of the registration, indicating the registration number, as soon as it has been confirmed by the Secretariat of the United Nations.
Done at Warsaw, this 8th day of December 2003, in two originals, each in the Polish and German languages, both texts being equally authentic.
For the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany For the Government of the Republic of Poland