The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Government of the Republic of Hungary, desiring to create a final settlement for the German war graves located in the Republic of Hungary and the Hungarian war graves located in the Federal Republic of Germany from the wars of 1914-1918 and 1939-1945, in an effort to ensure the preservation and maintenance of these graves in a dignified manner in accordance with the provisions of applicable international humanitarian law, - in execution of Article 29 of the Treaty of February 6, 1992, between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Hungary on Friendly Cooperation and Partnership in Europe - 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
(1) For the purposes of this Agreement, the terms below shall have the following meanings:
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 Hungary in connection with the events of the 1914-1918 war or the 1939-1945 war, provided that they were under the protection of international humanitarian law at the time of their death;
b) “German war graves”:
the graves of German war dead located in the territory of the Republic of Hungary;
c) “German war gravesites”:
the cemeteries or parts of cemeteries existing in the territory of the Republic of Hungary or to be newly established, in which German war dead are buried.
(2) For the purposes of this Agreement, the terms shall have the following meanings:
a) “Hungarian war dead”:
- members of the Hungarian armed forces,
other persons of Hungarian nationality who died in Germany in connection with the events of the war 1939-1945, insofar as they were under the protection of international humanitarian law at the time of their death,
persons of Hungarian nationality who died in Germany as a result of National Socialist acts of violence or died on German soil as a direct result of such acts;
b) “Hungarian war graves”:
the graves of Hungarian war dead located in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Article 3
(1) The Government of the Republic of Hungary shall ensure the protection of German war graves and the permanent right of rest for German war dead and shall endeavor to keep the surroundings of German war graves free of any structures that are incompatible with the dignity of these sites.
(2) The Government of the Republic of Hungary, which reserves the right to maintain and care for war graves located on its sovereign territory on the basis of the relevant provisions of international law, allows the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, through this agreement, to maintain and care for German war graves and war grave sites located in the Republic of Hungary at its own expense. The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany or the institution commissioned by it in accordance with Article 7, paragraph 1, shall coordinate the necessary measures with the Government of the Republic of Hungary or with the institution commissioned in accordance with Article 7, paragraph 2.
(3) The Federal Republic of Germany shall guarantee the preservation and maintenance of Hungarian war graves in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany at its own expense.
Article 4
(1) The Government of the Republic of Hungary grants the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany the use, for the past and the future, free of charge and for an unlimited period, of areas of land serving as German war graves and German war grave sites as a permanent resting place for their war dead. Otherwise, property rights are not affected by this agreement.
(2) All changes deemed necessary to the boundaries of areas of land used as war gravesites shall be settled by agreement between the Contracting Parties or the agencies designated by them. If, by agreement between the Contracting Parties, an area is no longer used in whole or in part for the intended purpose, this change shall result in the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany losing the right to use it.
(3) Should a site containing German war graves be needed for another use for imperative reasons of public interest, the Government of the Republic of Hungary shall, after consultation with the institution entrusted pursuant to Article 7, paragraph 1, provide the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany with another suitable site and shall bear the costs of the reburial of the dead and the preparation of the new graves. The implementation of the reburial and the preparation of the new war gravesite shall be carried out by mutual agreement.
(4) Insofar as German war graves are located in the territory of the Republic of Hungary on land that is not owned by the Hungarian state, the institution commissioned in accordance with Article 7 (1) shall conclude an agreement with the person authorized to dispose of the land in accordance with Hungarian law that corresponds to the provisions of paragraph 1. If such an outcome cannot be achieved within a reasonable period of time, the Government of the Republic of Hungary will mediate between the institution commissioned in accordance with Article 7, paragraph 1, and the beneficiary, and, if necessary, take other measures to ensure an outcome that is in line with the provisions of paragraph 1.
Article 5
(1) The Government of the Republic of Hungary shall permit, without incurring any costs thereby, and after having submitted to the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany a plan for its prior approval, the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany to consolidate the German war dead whose reburial the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany considers necessary.
(2) A record shall be made of every reburial of a German war dead. A copy of this record shall be sent to the Hungarian office entrusted with the implementation of this agreement.
Article 6
(1) The repatriation of German war dead from the territory of the Republic of Hungary to the Federal Republic of Germany requires the prior consent of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Government of the Republic of Hungary will only permit repatriation upon presentation of this consent.
(2) The consent of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany is also required for applications to the Government of the Republic of Hungary for the repatriation of German war dead to third countries.
(3) All costs and fees for disinterment and repatriation shall be borne by the applicants.
(4) The disinterment of war dead for repatriation shall be carried out by specialists appointed by the German side. Representatives of the Hungarian authorities may be present.
Article 7
(1) The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany commissions the “Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V.” (hereinafter referred to as “VOLKSBUND”) with the technical implementation of the tasks in the Republic of Hungary that arise for the German side from this agreement.
(2) The Government of the Republic of Hungary commissions the Ministry of Defense to carry out the tasks incumbent upon it under this agreement. This ministry may also commission other institutions to carry out its duties.
Article 8
The Government of the Republic of Hungary shall grant the VOLKSBUND every possible facility in accordance with the relevant Hungarian legislation, in particular access to documents concerning German war graves at all Hungarian authorities and other institutions.
Article 9
(1) In order to carry out the tasks arising from this Agreement, the VOLKSBUND may send representatives, specialists and other personnel to the Republic of Hungary or carry out its tasks in cooperation with other institutions designated by the Government of the Republic of Hungary.
(2) In carrying out its work, the VOLKSBUND shall, wherever possible, use local labor and materials in accordance with the conditions prevailing in free competition.
(3) The VOLKSBUND may also import from the Federal Republic of Germany or another Member State of the European Community equipment, means of transport, materials and accessories that originate from these States or are in free circulation within the Community and that are necessary for the performance of all the work mentioned in this Agreement.
(4) The following shall apply to the customs clearance of these goods:
(a) implements and means of transport which are temporarily imported shall be cleared through customs on import and export with the reservation that the implements and means of transport in question shall be re-exported after the work has been completed;
(b) Materials and equipment intended for the construction, ornamentation or maintenance of graves, memorials or cemeteries shall continue to be exempt from import duties where, in addition to the regular import declaration, the customs authorities are presented with:
- an exact 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 10
(1) The transfer of the areas serving as German war graves sites, as agreed in accordance with Article 4, paragraph 1, shall authorize the VOLKSBUND to carry out directly all landscaping and beautification work on the war graves sites, as well as the construction of suitable access roads, recreation rooms and other visitor facilities, within the framework of the relevant Hungarian legal provisions.
(2) The VOLKSBUND shall ensure that all health and safety requirements provided for in Hungarian law are observed during construction work and shall comply with Hungarian legal and administrative regulations concerning cemetery regulations.
Article 11
In the professional and technical implementation of this Agreement, the VOLKSBUND shall cooperate directly with the competent Hungarian authorities or with the other institution designated by the Government of the Republic of Hungary to carry out its obligations under this Agreement.
Article 12
This Agreement shall enter into force as soon as the Contracting Parties have notified each other that the necessary domestic requirements for entry into force have been met. The date of entry into force shall be deemed to be the date of receipt of the last notification.
Done at Bonn, 16 November 1993, in two copies, each in the German and Hungarian languages, each text being equally authentic.
For the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany Kinkel
For the Government of the Republic of Hungary Jeszenszky