Following a referendum in October 1955 that rejected the Saar statute proposing independence as European territory, thus voting indirectly in favor of access to the Federal Republic of Germany, the Saar Treaty of October 1956 allowed the Saarland to rejoin Germany effective as of 1 January 1957.
Following a referendum in October 1955 that overwhelmingly rejected the Saar statute proposing Saar independence as a "European territory", its people were thus voting indirectly in favor of accession to the Federal Republic of Germany. The subsequent Saar Treaty of October 1956 allowed the Saarland to rejoin Germany effective as of 1 January 1957.