The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Government of the Russian Federation, guided by the mutual desire to provide the war dead of both sides with a dignified final resting place, in the knowledge that that the maintenance of the graves of war dead on German and Russian soil represents a tangible expression of understanding and reconciliation between the German people and the peoples of the Russian Federation, in execution of Article 18 of the Treaty of November 9, 1990, on Good Neighbourly Relations, Partnership and Cooperation between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, in the desire to create a final settlement for the war graves of the dead of the respective other side from the First and Second World Wars located in the territory of the Contracting Parties, in the endeavor to ensure the preservation and maintenance of these graves in a dignified manner and in accordance with the provisions of applicable international humanitarian law, have agreed as follows:
Article 1
This Agreement governs the preservation and maintenance of the war graves of the Contracting Parties in the other State.
Article 2
For the purposes of this Agreement:
a) “German war dead”:
- members of the German armed forces,
- persons equated with them under German law,
- other persons of German nationality who died in connection with the events of the war of 1914/1918 or the war of 1939/1945 or after their deportation;
b) “German war graves”:
the graves of German war dead lying in the territory of the Russian Federation;
c) “German war cemeteries”:
the cemeteries or parts of cemeteries in which German war dead are buried, which still exist, can be found or are to be newly established in the territory of the Russian Federation;
d) “Russian war dead”:
- Russian members of the Russian and Soviet armed forces who died on German soil in connection with the two world wars;
- Russians who died while held as prisoners of war by Germany or as a result of their captivity until March 31, 1952;
Russians who died in German internment camps between September 1, 1939, and May 8, 1945;
Russians who were deported to Germany to perform forced labor or were held against their will in this territory between September 1, 1939, and May 8, 1945, and who died during this time;
Russians who were cared for by a recognized international refugee organization in transit camps and died there or after transfer to a hospital in the period from May 9, 1945 to June 30, 1950. If the administration of the collection camp was transferred to the jurisdiction of German authorities after July 1, 1950, the day before the transfer to German administration shall take the place of June 30, 1950;
e) “Russian war graves”:
Graves of Russian war dead that lie within the sovereign territory of the Federal Republic of Germany;
f) “Russian war cemeteries”:
areas of land within the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany where Russian war dead are buried.
Article 3
(1) The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Government of the Russian Federation shall ensure the protection of war graves and perpetual rights of burial for the war dead of the other side in their respective territories and shall endeavor to keep the surroundings of the war graves free of any structures that are incompatible with the dignity of these sites.
(2) The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany shall be entitled to restore and maintain at its expense German war graves and German war cemeteries in the Russian Federation.
(3) The Federal Republic of Germany shall guarantee at its expense the maintenance and care of Russian war graves in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Article 4
(1) The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Government of the Russian Federation shall transfer to each other, for the past and the future, free of charge and for an unlimited period of time, the areas of land serving as war graves of the other side as permanent resting places for their war dead.
(2) Property rights shall not be affected by this Agreement. Any changes deemed necessary to the boundaries of areas of land used as war gravesites shall be resolved by mutual agreement between the Parties or their designated authorities. If, by agreement between the Parties, a site is no longer used, in whole or in part, for its intended purpose, this change shall result in the Government of the beneficiary state concerned losing the right to use it.
(3) Should a site as defined in paragraph 1 be required for another use for imperative reasons of public policy, the government of the obliging country shall provide the government of the beneficiary country with another suitable site and shall bear the costs of reburial of the dead and of the preparation of the new graves. The selection of the new site, its preparation and the implementation of the reburial shall be carried out by mutual agreement. The reburial shall preferably be carried out by consolidating war graves into already existing war cemeteries.
Article 5
(1) The Government of the Russian Federation, without incurring any costs and after having received a plan for prior approval, shall permit the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany to consolidate the graves of German war dead whose reburial the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany considers necessary. The exhumation of German war dead shall be carried out by forces designated by the German side.
(2) Insofar as the Government of the Russian Federation considers it necessary to consolidate Russian war graves within the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany shall, after having been presented with a plan for prior approval, permit the reburial of these dead without incurring any costs on the German side. The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany may, for its part, propose to the Government of the Russian Federation such reburials at its own expense.
(3) A record shall be kept of each reburial of a German war dead, stating the old and new grave location, personal details, the inscription on the dog tag or other identifying features. A copy of this record shall be sent to the government of the Russian Federation.
(4) Insofar as it can be proven that formerly existing German war gravesites on Russian soil have been abandoned due to infrastructural changes that have taken place in the meantime and the German dead buried there can no longer be recovered, the Government of the Russian Federation shall, upon application by the German side, permit the erection of memorials in a simple and dignified form at these former sites. The Government of the Russian Federation shall provide suitable land for this purpose.
(5) Insofar as a provisional burial of German war dead found on Russian soil is necessary to enable a final burial at a German war grave site, the Government of the Russian Federation shall make arrangements for their proper and dignified provisional burial and for the marking of the graves. The German side may assume reasonable costs incurred as a part of the total costs of the final burial.
(6) In the event that Russian war dead are subsequently found on German soil, the government of the Federal Republic of Germany shall ensure their proper and dignified burial and the marking of these graves.
Article 6
Insofar as graves of war dead from other countries are located at German or Russian war gravesites in addition to war graves of the other side, this fact is to be given appropriate consideration in decisions regarding the preservation and maintenance of these graves.
Article 7
(1) The repatriation of German war dead from the territory of the Russian Federation to the Federal Republic of Germany requires the prior consent of the government of the Federal Republic of Germany. The government of the Russian Federation will only permit such repatriation if this consent has been obtained.
(2) The consent of the government of the Federal Republic of Germany is also required for applications to the government of the Russian Federation for the repatriation of German war dead in third countries.
(3) Paragraphs 1 and 2 apply mutatis mutandis to the repatriation of Russian war dead to the Russian Federation or to third countries.
(4) All costs and fees for the disinterment and repatriation of German or Russian war dead shall be borne by the applicants.
(5) Representatives of the authorities of both Parties may be present at the disinterment of war dead for repatriation.
Article 8
(1) The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany commissions the “Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V.” (hereinafter referred to as the “Volksbund”) with the technical implementation of the tasks in the Russian Federation that arise for the German side from this agreement.
(2) The Government of the Russian Federation commissions the “Association for International Cooperation in the Maintenance of Soldiers‘ Memorials” (hereinafter referred to as the “Soldiers’ Memorials Association”) with the technical implementation of the tasks arising from this Agreement for the Russian side.
(3) In the event that one of the Contracting Parties wishes to commission another organization, agreement shall be reached between the Contracting Parties.
Article 9
(1) The Government of the Russian Federation shall grant the Volksbund every possible support, in particular access to the documents on German war graves and deceased German soldiers held or to be held by all authorities and other institutions. Other agreements and arrangements remain unaffected.
(2) The government of the Federal Republic of Germany shall also support the association of war memorials for soldiers, in particular by providing all documents that provide information about the identity and grave location of Russian war dead, even if these documents are only found at a later date.
(3) In order to carry out its tasks, the Volksbund may send representatives, specialists and other personnel to the Russian Federation.
Article 10
(1) In carrying out the work arising from the implementation of this Agreement, the Volksbund shall, as far as possible, use local labor and materials in accordance with the conditions customary in free competition.
(2) The Volksbund may also import into and re-export from the Federal Republic of Germany or another member state of the European Community equipment, means of transport, materials and accessories that are necessary for the work mentioned in this Agreement in the Russian Federation.
(3) The following shall apply to the customs clearance of these goods:(a) equipment and means of transport that are temporarily imported shall be cleared on import-export customs declaration on their import into the Russian Federation, subject to the condition that the said equipment and means of transport are re-exported after the work has been completed;(b) material and equipment intended for the construction, decoration or maintenance of graves, memorials or cemeteries shall be admitted free of import duties if, in addition to the regular import declaration, the customs authorities are presented with: - a detailed list of the imported goods, - a declaration of commitment, signed by a duly authorized person, containing the binding assurance that the said goods will be used only for the purposes provided for in this Agreement.
Article 11
(1) The transfer of the land serving as German war graves, agreed in accordance with Article 4, paragraph 1, gives the Volksbund the authority to carry out all landscaping and beautification work on the war gravesites, as well as the construction of suitable access roads, recreation rooms and other facilities for visitors, within the framework of the relevant Russian legislation.
(2) The Volksbund shall ensure that all legal requirements regarding hygiene and health are observed during construction work as provided for by Russian law. It shall comply with the relevant legal and administrative regulations concerning cemetery regulations.
Article 12
The Volksbund and the Association of Soldiers' Memorials shall work closely together in the fulfillment of their tasks. They shall directly regulate the details of the professional and technical implementation of this agreement.
Article 13
This agreement shall enter into force one month after the date on which the Contracting Parties have notified each other that the necessary domestic requirements for entry into force have been met.
Done at Moscow, 16 December 1992, in two copies, each in the German and Russian languages, each text being equally authentic.
For the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany Klaus Blech
For the Government of the Russian Federation A. Kosyrew