Leipzig's tallest building. [ edit ] Major cities (1988 populations) Berlin, Hauptstadt der DDR ( English: Berlin, Capital of the GDR) (1,200,000) Leipzig * (556,000) Dresden * (520,000) Karl-Marx-Stadt * (317,000) (Name now reverted to Chemnitz) Magdeburg * (290,000) Rostock * (250,000) Halle (Saale) * (236,000) Erfurt * (215,000) Potsdam *