Tadeusz Mazowiecki was the first freely elected, non-communist prime minister of Poland after the Second World War. Being a member of the Club of Catholic Intelligentsia in Wrocław as well as publicist and counsellor of Solidarność, he played an active part in the opposition against communism.

The Polish People's Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany signed the Treaty of Warsaw in 1970. Its central concern was the recognition of the Western border and the territorial integrity of Poland. In Germany, the traety was considered highly controversial and became possible only due to Chancellor Willy Brandt's New Eastern policy. It was not until 1972 that it was ratified and thereby officially effective in Germany.