Stralsund citizens complain: Nuclear weapons ban is on the brink!

Stralsund citizens complain: Nuclear weapons ban is on the brink!

The dispute over freedom from nuclear weapons in Stralsund, which is one of the oldest Hanseatic cities in Germany, continues to rumble. On December 2, 2025, the citizens of Stralsund will sue Mayor Alexander Badrow (CDU). This dispute was triggered by a resolution passed by the citizens in December 2024. The urban area should therefore be kept free of nuclear weapons, which means that neither storage, transport nor stationing of such weapons may take place through the urban area. This motion was largely initiated by the Die Linke and Bürger für Stralsund/Adomeit factions, with the aim of sending a signal against the nuclear arms race.

However, Mayor Badrow considers this decision to be legally untenable. He argues that the citizenry does not have the power to decide on federal defense policy. This matter lies exclusively within the federal government's jurisdiction. To give the whole thing a twist, Badrow invokes the Two Plus Four Treaty, which states that stationing nuclear weapons on the former territory of the GDR is not permitted. [NDR](https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/mecklenburg-vorpommern/vorpommern/buergerschaft-stralsund-klagt-gegen-hypothetische-atom Waffen,mvregiogreifswald-2082.html) reports that the dispute will now be decided before the Greifswald Administrative Court, and the Die Linke faction hopes to set a precedent for more say for communities in this sensitive area.

The two-plus-four contract in focus

To better understand the background to this dispute, it is worth taking a look at the two-plus-four contract. This was signed in Moscow on September 12, 1990 and came into force on March 15, 1991. It is considered a decisive regulation that determined the foreign policy and security policy aspects of German unification and thus heralded an end to the post-war period in Germany. The treaty ended the rights and responsibilities of the four victorious powers and confirmed Germany's existing obligations under international law. This also means that there are no plans to station nuclear weapons in the former GDR. Wikipedia mentions that the treaty is considered a masterpiece of diplomacy and has been part of UNESCO's world heritage since 2011.

Interestingly, the withdrawal of Soviet forces by the end of 1994 was another important point in the negotiations, which took place at a time when the GDR was struggling with a massive economic and demographic crisis. These discussions and the associated challenges helped set the Two Plus Four Treaty in motion and illustrate how sensitive the issue of armaments and security is in Germany. Federal Agency for Civic Education describes that the contracting parties agreed on contractual regulations regarding the conditions and stay of the Soviet armed forces in the GDR.

The dispute in Stralsund shows how strong the repercussions of historical contracts such as the two-plus-four are on today's local politics. It remains to be seen how the administrative court will decide and whether this could potentially have far-reaching consequences for the municipalities' participation in security policy matters.