page_title: Merger of the KPD and SPD into the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
hierarchical_section_title: Merger of the KPD and SPD into the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
caption_attribution_description: Original image description from the Deutsche FotothekPorträt: Ernst
context_page_description: The merger of the Communist Party of Germany and the Social Democratic Party of Germany into the Socialist Unity Party of Germany occurred on 21 April 1946 in the territory of the Soviet occupation zone. It is considered a forced merger. In the course of the merger, about 5,000 Social Democrats who opposed it were detained and sent to camps and jails.
  Although nominally a merger of equals, the merged party quickly fell under Communist domination. The SED became the ruling party of the German Democratic Republic in 1949; by then, it had become a full-fledged Communist Party–for all intents and purposes, the KPD under a new name. It developed along lines similar to other Communist Parties in what became the Soviet Bloc. The SED would be the only ruling party of the GDR until its dissolution after the Peaceful Revolution in December 1989.
context_section_description: The merger of the Communist Party of Germany (German: Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, KPD) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (German: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, SPD) into the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (German: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, SED) occurred on 21 April 1946 in the territory of the Soviet occupation zone. It is considered a forced merger. In the course of the merger, about 5,000 Social Democrats who opposed it were detained and sent to camps and jails.
  Although nominally a merger of equals, the merged party quickly fell under Communist domination. The SED became the ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in 1949; by then, it had become a full-fledged Communist Party–for all intents and purposes, the KPD under a new name. It developed along lines similar to other Communist Parties in what became the Soviet Bloc. The SED would be the only ruling party of the GDR until its dissolution after the Peaceful Revolution in December 1989.
caption: Pieck and Grotewohl shake hands during the unification ceremony
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