Oder–Neisse line

The boundary along the Oder and Lusatian Neisse rivers that became Poland’s western border after World War II, separating Poland from Germany.

Tehran Conference: A 1943 meeting in which Allied leaders coordinated strategy and discussed postwar borders. The Allies considered shifting Poland westward during these wartime discussions.
Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950): The wartime flight and postwar forced removal of millions of ethnic Germans from Central and Eastern Europe. The redrawing of Germany’s eastern boundary accompanied the removal of German residents from territories transferred to Poland.
Curzon Line: A proposed boundary between Poland and the Soviet Union that broadly shaped Poland’s postwar eastern border. It was the counterpart to Poland’s westward territorial shift.
Border Treaty (1990): The 1990 treaty between Poland and Germany confirming their existing border along the Oder and Neisse rivers. It made the boundary binding in a bilateral treaty after German reunification.
Yalta Conference: A February 1945 meeting of Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin on the final defeat and postwar organization of Europe. Its agreement to move Poland west helped prepare the territorial settlement.
Polish population transfers (1944–1946): The postwar relocation of Poles, including transfers from territories annexed by the Soviet Union into postwar Poland. The westward shift of Poland’s territory was accompanied by the resettlement of millions of Poles.
Oder–Neisse border debate: The dispute over whether Poland’s western border should follow the Oder–Neisse line or a more easterly boundary. Allied disagreement focused on the exact western limit of Poland.
Polish–German reconciliation: The process of rebuilding relations between Poland and Germany after occupation, war, and mass displacement. Acceptance of the line became a foundation for stable relations between the two countries.
Potsdam Conference: A 1945 meeting of Allied leaders that addressed Germany’s occupation and Europe’s postwar order. Its declaration placed former German territories east of the line under Polish administration pending a peace settlement.
Former eastern territories of Germany: The German territories east of the Oder–Neisse line that became part of Poland after World War II. These lands were the principal territory transferred under the postwar settlement.

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