The General Treaty, signed by the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the Western Allies France, United Kingdom, United States on May 26, 1952, took effect on this day in 1955, formally ending Germany’s status as an occupied territory and recognizing its rights of a sovereign state, with certain restrictions that remained in place until German reunification in 1990.
Attaining sovereignty had become necessary in light of the rearmament efforts of the country. For this reason, it was agreed that the Treaty would only come to force when West Germany also joined the European Defence Community (EDC). However, the General Treaty could not come into effect as the EDC Treaty was not approved by France’s Parliament on August 30, 1954. Following this failure, the EDC Treaty was reworked and the nations at the London Nine-Power Conference decided to allow West Germany to join NATO and to create the Western European Union (not to be confused with the Western Union or the European Union). With this development, West Germany, under the leadership of Konrad Adenauer, in the backdrop of the Cold War became a fully trusted partner of the western allies, and with the second draft of the General Treaty, West Germany largely regained its sovereignty.
-Wikipedia