East Germany

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"GDR" redirects here. For other uses, see GDR (disambiguation).
This article is about the state that existed from 1949 to 1990. For the historical
eastern provinces, see Former eastern territories of Germany. For the modern east
of Germany, see New states of Germany. For a group of extinct Germanic
languages, see East Germanic languages.

German Democratic Republic

Deutsche Demokratische Republik

1949–1990

Flag
(1959–1990)

Emblem
(1955–1990)

Motto: "Proletarier aller Länder, vereinigt Euch!"

("Workers of the world, unite!")

Anthem: "Auferstanden aus Ruinen"

("Risen from Ruins")

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 The territory of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany)
from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October
1990

Status Member of the Warsaw Pact (1955–

1989)
Satellite state of the Soviet
Union (1949–1989)[1]
Member of Comecon (1950–1990)[2]

Capital East Berlin[a] (de facto)

and largest city

Official languages German
Sorbian (in parts of Bezirk
Dresden and Bezirk Cottbus)

Religion See Religion in East Germany

Demonym(s) East German

Government Federal Marxist–Leninist one-party soci
alist republic
(1949–1952)
Unitary Marxist–Leninist one-party soci
alist republic
(1952–1989)
Unitary parliamentary republic
(1989–1990)

General Secretary  
• 1946–1950[b] Wilhelm Pieck and Otto Grotewohl[c]
• 1950–1971 Walter Ulbricht
• 1971–1989 Erich Honecker
• 1989[d]
Egon Krenz
Head of State  
• 1949–1960 (first)
• 1990 (last)
Head of Government
• 1949–1964 (first)
• 1990 (last)
Wilhelm Pieck
Sabine Bergmann-Pohl
 
Otto Grotewohl
Lothar de Maizière

Legislature Volkskammer

• Upper house Länderkammer[e]

Historical era Cold War

• Constitution adopted 7 October 1949

• Uprising of 1953 16 June 1953
• Warsaw Pact 14 May 1955
• Berlin Crisis 4 June 1961
• Basic Treaty with FRG 13 June 1973
• Admitted to the UN 18 September 1973
• Peaceful Revolution 13 October 1989
• Fall of the Berlin Wall 9 November 1989
• Final Settlement 12 September 1990
• Reunification 3 October 1990

Area
• Total 108,333 km2 (41,828 sq mi)

Population
• 1950 18,388,000[f][3]
• 1970 17,068,000
• 1990 16,111,000
• Density 149/km2 (385.9/sq mi)

HDI (1989) 0.953[4]
very high

Currency East German mark (1949–1990),

officially named:
o Deutsche Mark (1949–1964)
o Mark der Deutschen Notenbank (1964–
1967)
o Mark der DDR (1967–1990)
Deutsche Mark (from 1 July 1990)

Time zone (UTC+1)

Driving side right

Calling code +37

 Internet TLD .dd[g][5]

Preceded by Succeeded by
Soviet Federal Republic
occupation zone of Germany
of Germany (reunified
Germany)

Today part of Germany

The initial flag of East Germany adopted in 1949 was identical to

that of West Germany. In 1959, the East German government issued
a new version of the flag bearing the national emblem, serving to
distinguish East from West.

East Germany, officially the German Democratic

Republic (GDR; German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, pronounced [ˈdɔʏtʃə
demoˈkʁaːtɪʃə ʁepuˈbliːk] ( listen), DDR, pronounced [ˌdeːdeːˈʔɛʁ] ( listen)), was a former
state that existed from 1949 to 1990 in eastern Germany as part of the Eastern
Bloc in the Cold War. Commonly described as a communist state, it described itself
as a socialist "workers' and peasants' state".[6] Its territory was administered and
occupied by Soviet forces following the end of World War II—the Soviet occupation
zone of the Potsdam Agreement, bounded on the east by the Oder–Neisse line. The
Soviet zone surrounded West Berlin but did not include it and West Berlin remained
outside the jurisdiction of the GDR.
The GDR was established in the Soviet zone while the Federal Republic of
Germany, commonly referred to as West Germany, was established in the three
western zones. A satellite state of the Soviet Union,[7] Soviet occupation authorities
began transferring administrative responsibility to German communist leaders in
1948 and the GDR began to function as a state on 7 October 1949, although Soviet
forces remained in the country throughout the Cold War. Until 1989, the GDR was
governed by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), although other parties
nominally participated in its alliance organization, the National Front of the German
Democratic Republic.[8] The SED made the teaching of Marxism–Leninism and
the Russian language compulsory in schools.[9]
The economy was centrally planned and increasingly state-owned.[10] Prices of
housing, basic goods and services were heavily subsidized and set by central
government planners rather than rising and falling through supply and demand.
Although the GDR had to pay substantial war reparations to the Soviets, it became
the most successful economy in the Eastern Bloc. Emigration to the West was a
significant problem as many of the emigrants were well-educated young people
and weakened the state economically. The government fortified its inner German
border and built the Berlin Wall in 1961.[11] Many people attempting to flee[12][13][14] were
killed by border guards or booby traps such as landmines.[15] Those captured spent
large amounts of time imprisoned for attempting to escape. [16][17] In 1951 there was a
referendum in East Germany regarding the remilitarization of Germany. It got
approved by 95 % of the people.[18]
In 1989, numerous social, economic and political forces in the GDR and abroad, one
of the most notable ones being the peaceful protests starting in the city of Leipzig,
 led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the establishment of a government committed to
liberalization. The following year, a free and fair election was held[19] and international
negotiations led to the signing of the Final Settlement treaty on the status and
borders of Germany. The GDR dissolved itself and reunified with West Germany on
3 October 1990, with former East German states reunified with the Federal Republic
of Germany. Several of the GDR's leaders, notably its last communist leader Egon
Krenz, were prosecuted by the Federal Republic after reunification for offenses
committed during the Cold War.[20][21]
Geographically, the GDR bordered the Baltic Sea to the north, Poland to the
east, Czechoslovakia to the southeast and West Germany to the southwest and
west. Internally, the GDR also bordered the Soviet sector of Allied-occupied Berlin,
known as East Berlin, which was also administered as the state's de facto capital. It
also bordered the three sectors occupied by the United States, United
Kingdom and France known collectively as West Berlin. The three sectors occupied
by the Western nations were sealed off from the GDR by the Berlin Wall from its
construction in 1961 until it was brought down in 1989.

Contents

 1Naming conventions
 2History
o 2.1Origins
o 2.21949 establishment
o 2.3Zones of occupation
o 2.4Partition
o 2.5GDR identity
o 2.6Die Wende (German reunification)
 3Politics
o 3.1Organization
 4Population
o 4.1Vital statistics
o 4.2Major cities
 5Administrative districts
 6Military
o 6.1National People's Army
o 6.2Border troops
o 6.3Volkspolizei-Bereitschaft
o 6.4Stasi
o 6.5Combat groups of the working class
o 6.6Conscientious objection
 7Foreign policy
o 7.1Support of Third World socialist countries
o 7.2East Germany and the Middle East conflict
o 7.3Soviet military occupation
 8Economy
o 8.1Consumption and jobs
 9Religion
o 9.1State atheism
o 9.2Protestantism
 o 9.3Catholicism
 10Culture
o 10.1Music
o 10.2Theatre
o 10.3Cinema
o 10.4Sport
o 10.5Television and radio
 11Industry
o 11.1Telecommunications
 12Totalitarianism and repression
 13Official and public holidays
 14Legacy
o 14.1Decrepit Infrastructure
o 14.2Authoritarianism
o 14.3Ostalgie
o 14.4Electoral consequences
 15See also
 16Notes
 17References
 18Further reading
o 18.1Historiography and memory
o 18.2In German
 19External links

Naming conventions[edit]
The official name was Deutsche Demokratische Republik (German Democratic
Republic), usually abbreviated to DDR (GDR). Both terms were used in East
Germany, with increasing usage of the abbreviated form, especially since East
Germany considered West Germans and West Berliners to be foreigners following
the promulgation of its second constitution in 1968. West Germans, the western
media and statesmen initially avoided the official name and its abbreviation, instead
using terms like Ostzone (Eastern Zone),[22] Sowjetische Besatzungszone (Soviet
Occupation Zone; often abbreviated to SBZ) and sogenannte DDR[23] or "so-called
GDR".[24]