二次大戰後，德國在美、英、法及蘇聯兩大軍事集團的操縱與設計下，分裂為兩個德國，即德意志聯邦共和國(Bundesrepublik Deutschland, BRD)，簡稱「西德」；以及德意志民主共和國(Deutsche Demokratische Repblik, DDR)，簡稱東德。但早期採取豪爾斯坦原則，主張本身為德國的正統政府。兩德初始成立時早已充滿工具色彩的性格，目的是做為東西陣營對抗的重要棋子，因此兩德的相處過程，美蘇兩陣營的對抗格局、氛圍與步調，深刻影響著兩者的對待態度與模式。但難能可貴的是，兩個國家的領導人仍毫不放棄在狹隘的國際關係框架中，努力發展出各自雖有限但卻深蘊潛力的獨立與自主性，得以在重要的關鍵時刻，也就是在1972年簽訂《兩德基礎條約(Grundlagenvertrag)》，順勢借力鋪排兩者對等共存與和平發展的長遠相處之道。兩德最終的結局發展與發展或許與中、臺所圖不盡相同，但這無疑是值得兩岸參考借鏡的一段珍貴歷史過程。本文旨在探討東西德這種模式與國際法的關係。

Germany was split into two states after World War II under the mechanism of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union. West Germany (the Federal Republic of German, FRG; in German Bundesrepublik Deutschland, BRD) and East Germany (the German Democratic Republic, GDR; in German, Deutsche Demokratische Republik, DDR) both claimed to be the only legitimate German government. Having been created as pawns on the Cold War board game, the instrumental characteristics of the two Germanys were manifest from the outset. The US v. USSR grand scheme, and the progression and atmosphere of the Cold War greatly affected their interrelations. In a historical rarity, the leaders from the East and the West did not confined themselves in the straitjacket of the international framework at the time and instead strove to assert their own limited and latent independence. They came to their own in 1972 when the FRG and the GDR signed the Basic Treaty and paved the road for peaceful and equal coexistence. Their finale might differ from what Taiwan and China seek, but both sides of the Taiwan Strait should learn from this history.