Editing Federation of Expellees (section)

===German reunification===
Previous West German governments, especially those led by the Christian Democratic Union, had shown more rhetorical support for the territorial claims made on behalf of German refugees and expellees. Although the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democrats]] showed strong support for the expellees, especially under [[Kurt Schumacher]] and [[Erich Ollenhauer]], Social Democrats in more recent decades have generally been less supportive – and it was under [[Willy Brandt]] that [[West Germany]] recognized the [[Oder-Neisse line]] as the eastern German border with Poland under his policy of [[Ostpolitik]]. In reality, accepting the internationally recognized boundary made it more possible for eastern Germans to visit their lost homelands.

In 1989–1990 the West German government realized they had an opportunity to reunify the Federal Republic of Germany and the Soviet created German Democratic Republic. But they believed that if this were to be achieved, it had to be done quickly. One of the potential complications was the claim to the historical eastern territories of Germany; unless this was renounced, some foreign governments might not agree to [[German reunification]]. The West German government under the CDU accepted the 1990 [[Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany]] (Two Plus Four Agreement), which officially re-established the sovereignty of both German states. A condition of this agreement was that Germany accept the post-World War II frontiers. Upon reunification in 1990, the [[Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany|constitution]] was amended to state that Germany's territory had reached its full extent. Article 146 was amended so that Article 23 of the current constitution could be used for reunification. Once the five "reestablished federal states" in the east had been united with the west, the Basic Law was amended again to show that ''there were no other parts of Germany, which existed outside of the unified territory'', that had not acceded.