Czechoslovak-West German trade-political and transport-political Relations in the period 1968-1989

The treaty of establishment of sales representation and the regulation of commodity and paying system from 1967 preceded the establishment of diplomatic relations in the first half of 1970's. This normalization of the mutual political relations however has not affected substantially the foreign exchange. But it led to expansion of the mutual sales representation. The military occupation of Czechoslovakia and the period of political normalization had brought a disruption of the well developing Czechoslovak - West German trade and transport cooperation. In the period 1968-1989 the Czechoslovak share of the trade with Germany as part of its foreign trade remained under one percent and the West German share of trade with Czechoslovakia hardly reached just several percents. Nevertheless Germany remained the most significant West European partner for Czechoslovakia and Hamburg together with the Yugoslavian Rijeka remained as the most considerable West European seaport. Despite different power-political and ideological development, in Czechoslovak - West German economic and transport relations, efforts had been made towards compromise and reality. The legally unsettled position of the Elbe, which lasted from the end of the Second World War until 1988, respectively until 1990, has presented one of series of paradoxes in the post war economical development of Europe.