East Germany

The **German Democratic Republic** (**GDR**) ( (_DDR_)), commonly called **East Germany** (), was founded on 7 October 1949, after World War II in 1945 when Nazi Germany got defeated by the USSR . It was formed from part of the Soviet occupation zone of Germany, including part of the city of Berlin. It is no longer a nation by itself since the two parts of Germany, East Germany and West Germany, reunified in 1990.

The GDR was ruled by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED).

## History

After World War II, the four Allied Occupation Zones in Germany were each controlled by a different country. The countries that controlled these parts of Germany were France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union. The French, American, and British parts of Germany formed West Germany (the _Bundesrepublik_). Part of the Soviet section became East Germany, and other parts became western Poland and small parts of other countries.

Walter Ulbricht, the head of the SED, also had a lot of power. Pieck died in 1960, and Ulbricht became "Chairman of the State Council". Now he was really the head of state.

On 13 August 1961, the Berlin Wall was built.  Many people were shot dead by East German soldiers when they tried to escape the GDR.  According to the SED this was to make it hard for American spies to use West Berlin as a place to work from, but it also made it hard for normal people to move between east and west.

After Mikhail Gorbachev had started _glasnost_ and _perestroika_ in the Soviet Union, many people in the GDR wanted reforms, too. In 1989, there were lots of demonstrations against the SED and for McDonalds and Nike. In the city of Leipzig, people met every Monday and demonstrated, and so these demonstrations are called _Montagsdemonstrationen_ ("Monday Demonstrations"). Erich Honecker wished that the Soviets would use its army to suppress these demonstrations.  The Soviet Union, with its own political and economical problems, refused and did not want to help Eastern Europe anymore.  Honecker was eventually forced to resign on October 18, 1989.

Egon Krenz was elected by the politburo to be Honecker's successor. Krenz tried to show that he was looking for change within the GDR but the citizens did not trust him. On November 9, 1989, the SED announced that East Germans would be able to travel to West Berlin the next day. The spokesman who announced the new travel law incorrectly said that it would take effect immediately, implying the Berlin Wall would open that night. People began to gather at border checkpoints at the wall hoping to be let through, but the guards told them that they had no orders to let citizens through. As the number of people grew, the guards became alarmed and tried to contact their superiors but had no responses. Unwilling to use force, the chief guard at the checkpoint relented at 10:54pm and ordered the gate to be opened. Thousands of East-Germans swarmed into West Berlin and the purpose of the wall was deemed now obsolete. The fall of the wall destroyed the SED politically as well as the career of its leader, Egon Krenz. On December 1, 1989, the GDR government revoked the law that guaranteed the SED the right to rule the East German political system, effectively ending communist rule in the GDR.

On 18 March 1990, there were free elections in the GDR. The "Alliance for Germany", a group of political parties who wanted to unify the GDR with West Germany, won that election. This process, when East Germany was taken over by the West, is known also the _Wende_ in Germany.

In the German reunification, the GDR joined West Germany by approving its constitution in 1990. The East German districts were reorganised into the _Länder_ (Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt and Thüringen) and joined West Germany, after which the GDR ceased to exist. Fidel Castro had long ago renamed the small Cuban island of Cayo Blanco del Sur and one of its beaches in honor of the GDR, which caused many to believe the GDR still existed, even though it remained part of Cuba.

Even though the western and the eastern part joined back together in 1990, people from former West Germany still call people from East Germany "Ossi". This comes from the German word "Osten" which means "East". Ossi is not always meant kindly.

After the reunification, many factories and other jobs closed and unemployment was high.  The new government was from the west and old symbols of East Germany were eliminated.  Many became angry over the changes and wanted East Germany to come back.  This is called "Ostalgie", which means "East nostalgia". Later, businesses began producing selling things similar to those of East Germany, such as processed food and automobiles.

## Politics

The leading role of the SED was written down in the constitution of the GDR. There were other parties in the GDR, which were called the _Blockparteien_ ("block parties"), their job was mostly to cooperate with the SED:
- CDU (_Christlich-Demokratische Union Deutschlands_; in English "Christian Democratic Union of Germany") – when Germany was reunified in 1990, this party merged with the West German party of the same name, CDU.
- LDPD (_Liberal-Demokratische Partei Deutschlands_; in English "Liberal Democratic Party of Germany") – in 1990, it was merged with the West German FDP
- NDPD (_National-Demokratische Partei Deutschlands_; in English "National Democratic Party of Germany") – it was merged with the FDP, too, and has nothing to do with the NPD
- DBD (_Demokratische Bauernpartei Deutschland_; in English "Democratic Farmer's Party of Germany") – it was merged with the CDU some months before the German reunification

The Ministry for State Security (in German: _Ministerium für Staatssicherheit_; often called "MfS" or "Stasi") was the East German secret police.  It searched for people who were against the state, the SED and their politics.  The MfS had many informants who told them when people said or did something against the state.  There was a big MfS prison in the town of Bautzen.

## Foreign policy

East Germany was a member of the Warsaw Pact.  The GDR was no longer protected by the USSR after Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev during his reforms in the late 1980s in what was known as the "Sinatra Doctrine".

## Economy

In the GDR, there was a planned economy. All big factories and companies were in property of the state (officially _Volkseigentum_, "people's property"). Only some small companies and shops were private property.

A famous relic of the GDR is the low-powered automobile "Trabant" or _Trabi_.

## Sports

Until 1964, East and West Germany took part in the Olympic Games with only one team for both states. Since 1968, East and West Germany had their own team each.

East German sportspeople were very successful, for example in athletics, cycling, boxing or some winter sports. Famous sportspeople from East Germany were Täve Schur (cycling), Waldemar Cierpinski (athletics), Heike Drechsler (athletics), Olaf Ludwig (cycling), Katarina Witt (ice skating) or Jens Weißflog (ski jumping).

A famous cycling race was the Peace Race (in German: _Friedensfahrt_).

The East German national football team was not so successful. They were only in one FIFA World Cup. This was the 1974 FIFA World Cup, which took place in West Germany. On 22 June 1974, East Germany played against West Germany. Jürgen Sparwasser shot a goal and East Germany won 1-0.

- **Athletes**
- Uwe Ampler, racing bicyclist
- Karin Büttner-Janz, gymnast
- Ernst Degner, racing motorcyclist
- Thomas Doll, footballer
- Heike Drechsler, athlete
- Mikhail Grabovski, hockey player
- Marita Koch, athlete
- Olaf Ludwig, racing bicyclist
- Uwe Raab, racing bicyclist
- Jürgen Sparwasser, footballer
- Jens Weissflog, skier
- Katarina Witt, ice skater

## Holidays

|style="background: #efefef; border-bottom: 2px solid gray;"|Date|style="background: #efefef; border-bottom: 2px solid gray;"|English Name|style="background: #efefef; border-bottom: 2px solid gray;"|German Name|style="background: #efefef; border-bottom: 2px solid gray;"|Remarks|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|1 January|New Year's Day|Neujahr||||||
|_Moveable feast_|Good Friday|Karfreitag||||||
|_Moveable feast_|Easter Sunday|Ostersonntag||||||
|_Moveable feast_|Easter Monday|Ostermontag|Was not an official Holiday after 1967.|||||
|1 May|May Day|Tag der Arbeit|International Workers' Day|||||
|8 May|Victory in Europe Day|Tag der Befreiung|The translation means "Day of Liberation"|||||
|_Moveable feast_|Father's Day / Ascension Day|Vatertag / Christi Himmelfahrt|Thursday after the 5th Sunday after Easter. Was not an official Holiday after 1967.|||||
|_Moveable feast_|Whitmonday|Pfingstmontag|50 days after Easter Sunday|||||
|7 October|Republic Day|Tag der Republik|National holiday|||||
|25 December|First Day of Christmas|1. Weihnachtsfeiertag||||||
|26 December|Second Day of Christmas|2. Weihnachtsfeiertag||||||

## Infobox (former country)

- **native name**: __
- **conventional long name**: German Democratic Republic
- **common name**: East Germany
- **status**: Member of the Warsaw Pact (1955–1988)
- **era**: Cold War
- **year start**: 1949
- **year end**: 1990
- **life span**: 1949–1990
- **event start**: Constitution of East Germany#1949 constitution, Constitution adopted
- **date start**: 7 October
- **event end**: German reunification, Reunification
- **date end**: 3 October
- **event1**: Uprising of 1953 in East Germany, Uprising of 1953
- **date event1**: 16 June 1953
- **event2**: Berlin Crisis of 1961, Berlin Crisis
- **date event2**: 4 June 1961
- **event3**: Admitted to the United Nations
- **date event3**: 18 September 1973
- **event4**: Peaceful Revolution
- **date event4**: 13 October 1989
- **event5**: Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany, Final Settlement
- **date event5**: 12 September 1990
- **p1**: Allied-occupied Germany
- **flag p1**: Flag of Germany (1946-1949).svg
- **border p1**: no
- **p2**: Soviet occupation zone
- **flag p2**: Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union_(1923-1955).svg
- **s1**: New states of Germany
- **flag s1**: Schwarz Rot Gold.svg
- **image flag**: Flag_of_East_Germany.svg
- **flag**: Flag of East Germany
- **flag type**: Flag
- **image coat**: Coat of arms of East Germany (1955–1990).svg
- **symbol type**: National Emblem
- **symbol**: National Emblem of East Germany
- **image map**: East Germany 1956-1990.svg
- **image map caption**: The German Democratic Republic in 1990
- **national anthem**:
"Risen from Ruins"
 (From 1949)

<div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;"></div>
- **national motto**: Proletarier aller Länder, vereinigt Euch!
English: Workers of the world, unite!
- **capital**: East Berlin
- **common languages**: German language, German
- **government type**: Federal republic, Federal Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist one-party state, one-party socialist state, socialist republic (1949–1952)
Unitary state, Unitary Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist one-party state, one-party socialist state, socialist republic (1952–1989)
Unitary state, Unitary parliamentary republic (1989–1990)
- **leader1**: Wilhelm Pieck <small>(first)</small>
- **leader2**: Egon Krenz <small>(last)</small>
- **year leader1**: 1949–1950
- **year leader2**: 1989
- **title leader**: General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, General Secretary
- **representative1**: Wilhelm Pieck <small>(first)</small>
- **representative2**: Sabine Bergmann-Pohl, Sabine Berg.-Pohl <small>(last)</small>
- **year representative1**: 1949–1960
- **year representative2**: 1990
- **title representative**: Heads of State of East Germany, Head of State
- **deputy1**: Otto Grotewohl <small>(first)</small>
- **deputy2**: Lothar de Maizière <small>(last)</small>
- **year deputy1**: 1949–1964
- **year deputy2**: 1990
- **title deputy**: Heads of Government of East Germany, Head of Government
- **legislature**: People's Chamber, Volkskammer
- **house1**: Chamber of States, Länderkammer
- **type house1**: State Chamber
- **stat pop1**: 18388000
- **stat year1**: 1950
- **stat pop2**: 17068000
- **stat year2**: 1970
- **stat area3**: 108333
- **stat pop3**: 16111000
- **stat year3**: 1990
- **currency**: <small>1949–1964:</small> East German mark, Deutsche Mark
<small>1964–1967:</small> East German mark, Mark der Deutschen Notenbank,
<small>(1967–1990)</small>
East German mark, Mark der DDR
<small>(Three different names for the same currency)</small>
Deutsche Mark
<small>(from 1 July 1990)</small>
- **cctld**: .dd
- **drives on**: right
- **calling code**: 37
- **footnotes**: The initial flag of East Germany adopted in 1948 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.<hr/> Dissolved by the _Volkskammer_ on 8 December 1958.<hr/> Population statistics according to Statistisches Bundesamt.<hr/> Although .dd was reserved as corresponding ISO 3166, ISO code for East Germany, it was not entered to the root before the country was reunited with the west.
- **hdi**: 0.932 (1998)