In contrast to previously published models for the area, the seismic reflec
tion Moho is essentially flat beneath the NE German Basin along the DEKORP
deep seismic profile Basin '96, This raises the question, whether the prese
nt structure of the crust and flat Moho reflect the initial formation of th
e basin or modification by more recent processes. A 2D flexural model, deve
loped for a thin elastic plate, is presented together with lithospheric str
ength profiles calculated along the BASIN 9601 reflection seismic line. The
analysis shows a southward decrease of lithospheric strength below the Bas
in, with a lithospheric decoupling between the crust and the mantle, The mo
delling supports the hypothesis that the present Moho topography is caused
by flexural buckling which caused subsidence of the ME German Basin during
the Upper Cretaceous-Early Cenozoic inversion event, This suggests that the
basin is in isostatic disequilibrium, and that compressive stresses are re
quired to keep the present basin geometry.