Deutsche Demokratische Republik German Democratic Republic ← 1949–1990 → Flag Coat of arms Motto German: "Proletarier aller Länder, vereinigt Euch!" English translation: Workers of the world, unite! Anthem "Auferstanden aus Ruinen" Capital East Berlin Language(s) German Government Socialist republic Head of State  - 1949–1960 Wilhelm Pieck  - 1960–1973 Walter Ulbricht  - 1973–1976 Willi Stoph  - 1976–1989 Erich Honecker  - 1989 Egon Krenz  - 1989–1990 Manfred Gerlach Head of Government  - 1949–1964 Otto Grotewohl  - 1964–1973 Willi Stoph  - 1973–1976 Horst Sindermann  - 1976–1989 Willi Stoph  - 1989–1990 Hans Modrow  - 1990 Lothar de Maizière Legislature Volkskammer Historical era Cold War  - Established October 7, 1949  - Final Settlement September 25, 1990  - German reunification October 3, 1990 Area  - 1990 108,333 km² (41,828 sq mi) Population  - 1990 est. 16,111,000       Density 148.7 /km²  (385.2 /sq mi) Currency East German mark Internet TLD .dd Calling code +37 1Although .dd was reserved as corresponding ISO code for East Germany, it was not put into the root before the country was dissolved. 2Country code 37 was retired in Spring 1992. The number range was subdivided, and re-allocated amongst former USSR states.

The German Democratic Republic (GDR; German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, DDR; commonly known in English as East Germany) was a socialist state created by the Soviet Union in the Soviet Zone of occupied Germany and the Soviet sector of occupied Berlin. East Germany existed from 1949 until 1990, when its re-established states acceded to the adjacent Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), thus producing the current form of the state of Germany. Former eastern territories of Germany (German: ) describes collectively those provinces or regions east of the Oder-Neisse line which were internationally recognised as part of the territory of Germany after the formation of the German Empire in 1871. ... A Global Depository Receipt or Global Depositary Receipt (GDR) is a certificate issued by an international bank which can be subject of worldwide circulation on capital markets. ... The C-Pennant Occupation zones in Germany (1945) Capital Berlin (de jure) Political structure Military occupation Governors (1945)  - UK zone F.M. Montgomery  - French zone Gen. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany_(1946-1949). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... “Deutschland” redirects here. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_East_Germany. ... Image File history File links Coat_of_arms_of_East_Germany. ... Flag ratio: 3:5 From the establishment of East Germany in 1949 to 1959, the flag of East Germany was the same as the Flag of West Germany, and the current Flag of Germany. ... The coat of arms The Coat of Arms of the German Democratic Republic featured a hammer, a pair of compasses, surrounded by a ring of rye. ... For other uses, see Motto (disambiguation). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Coat of Arms of the Soviet Union, with the slogan emblazoned on the ribbons The political slogan Workers of the world, unite!, (German: Proletarier aller Länder, vereinigt euch!) one of the most famous rallying cries of socialism, comes from Karl Marxs and Friedrich Engelss The Communist... A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a countrys government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people. ... Auferstanden aus Ruinen (Risen from the Ruins) was the national anthem of East Germany (German Democratic Republic, German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, DDR). ... File links The following pages link to this file: East Germany Categories: GFDL images ... Throughout the world there are many cities that were once national capitals but no longer have that status because the country ceased to exist, the capital was moved, or the capital city was renamed. ... East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. ... The term socialist state (or socialist republic, or workers state) can carry one of several different (but related) meanings: Strictly speaking, any real or hypothetical state organized along the principles of socialism may be called a socialist state. ... // Leaders of the Socialist Unity Party Chairmen Wilhelm Pieck (formerly KPD) and Otto Grotewohl (formerly SPD) (1946–1954) First Secretaries / General Secretaries of the Central Committee German: Erster Sekretär des Zentralkomitees der Sozialistischen Einheitspartei Deutschlands, Generalsekretär des ZK der SED. Walter Ulbricht (1950–1971) Erich Honecker (1971–1989... Wilhelm Pieck (January 3, 1876 - September 7, 1960) was a German communist, politician and president of East Germany. ... Walter Ulbricht (June 30, 1893 – August 1, 1973) was a German communist politician. ... Willi Stoph (9 July 1914 - 13 April 1999) was Prime Minister of East Germany from 1973 to 1989. ... Erich Honecker (August 25, 1912 – May 29, 1994) was a German Communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1971 until 1989. ... Egon Krenz (born 19 March 1937) is a former German Communist politician, who briefly served as leader of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in 1989 before the end of Communist rule. ... Manfred Gerlach (born 1928) acted as Chairman of the Council of State and thus head of state in East Germany from December 6, 1989 to April 5, 1990. ... // Leaders of the Socialist Unity Party Chairmen Wilhelm Pieck (formerly KPD) and Otto Grotewohl (formerly SPD) (1946–1954) First Secretaries / General Secretaries of the Central Committee German: Erster Sekretär des Zentralkomitees der Sozialistischen Einheitspartei Deutschlands, Generalsekretär des ZK der SED. Walter Ulbricht (1950–1971) Erich Honecker (1971–1989... Otto Grotewohl (March 11, 1894 - September 21, 1964) was an East German politician. ... Willi Stoph (9 July 1914 - 13 April 1999) was Prime Minister of East Germany from 1973 to 1989. ... Horst Sindermann (September 5, 1915 - April 20, 1990) was Chairman of the Council of Ministers of East Germany (GDR) from 1973 to 1976. ... Willi Stoph (9 July 1914 - 13 April 1999) was Prime Minister of East Germany from 1973 to 1989. ... Hans Modrow (born January 27, 1928) served as one of the last leaders of East Germany and as of 2003 functions as honorary Chairman of the Party of Democratic Socialism. ... Lothar de Maizière [] (born 2 March 1940) is a German conservative politician who served as the last and only democratically elected Prime Minister of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in 1990. ... A Legislature is a type of representative deliberative assembly with the power to create, amend and ratify laws. ... The Volkskammer (Peoples Chamber) was the de jure Legislature of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... Following Germanys defeat in World War II and the beginning of the Cold War, Germany was split, representing the focus of the two global blocs in the east and west. ... is the 280th day of the year (281st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany is the final peace treaty negotiated between the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, and the Four Powers which occupied Germany at the end of World War II in Europe: France, the United Kingdom, the United States and... is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the 1990 German reunification. ... is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This is a list of the countries of the world sorted by area. ... Population density per square kilometre by country, 2006 Population density map of the world in 1994. ... ISO 4217 Code DDM User(s) German Democratic Republic Pegged with Deutsche Mark = M11 Subunit 1/100 pfennig Symbol M Plural Mark pfennig Pfennig Coins Freq. ... A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is a top-level domain used and reserved for a country or a dependent territory. ... .dd was the ISO 3166-1 code for the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), the letters coming from the German name of the country: Deutsche Demokratische Republik. ... This is a list of country calling codes defined by ITU-T recommendation E.164. ... .dd was the ISO 3166-1 code for the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), the letters coming from the German name of the country: Deutsche Demokratische Republik. ... Former USSR is the name given to the region of Europe and Asia comprising former republics of the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), which dissolved in 1991. ... The term socialist state (or socialist republic, or workers state) can carry one of several different (but related) meanings: Strictly speaking, any real or hypothetical state organized along the principles of socialism may be called a socialist state. ... The Control Council headquarters The Allied Control Council or Allied Control Authority, known in German as the Alliierter Kontrollrat, was a military occupation governing body of Germany after the end of World War II in Europe; the members were the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union. ... East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. ... The C-Pennant Occupation zones in Germany (1945) Capital Berlin (de jure) Political structure Military occupation Governors (1945)  - UK zone F.M. Montgomery  - French zone Gen. ... This article is about the 1990 German reunification. ... The Federal Republic of Germany can refer to two things: West Germany from 1949-1990 Germany since German reunification in 1990 ...

Until 1952 it consisted of the German states of Mecklenburg, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Saxony. Those were formed by pre-war German provinces or what was left of them with the new borders after the Potsdam Agreement. It claimed East Berlin as its capital. Germany is a Federal Republic made up of 16 States, known in German as Länder (singular Land). ... The name Mecklenburg derives from a castle named Mikilenburg (Old German: big castle), located between the cities of Schwerin and Wismar. ... For the similarly spelled Brandenberg, see Brandenberg (Austria) or Brandenburg (disambiguation) Location Coordinates , , Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Administration Country NUTS Region DE4 Capital Potsdam Minister-President Matthias Platzeck (SPD) Governing parties SPD / CDU Votes in Bundesrat 4 (of 69) Basic statistics Area  29,479 km² (11,382... With an area of 20,447 km² and a population of 2. ... The Free State of Thuringia (German: Freistaat Thüringen) is located in central Germany and is considered one of the smaller of Germanys sixteen Bundesländer (federal states), with an area of 16,200 km² and 2. ... Location Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Administration Country NUTS Region DED Capital Dresden Minister-President Georg Milbradt (CDU) Governing parties CDU / SPD Votes in Bundesrat 4 (from 69) Basic statistics Area  18,416 km² (7,110 sq mi) Population 4,252,000 (11/2006)[1]  - Density 231 /km... The Potsdam Agreement, or the Potsdam Proclamation, was an agreement on policy for the occupation and reconstruction of Germany and other nations after fighting in the European Theatre of World War II had ended with the German surrender of May 8, 1945. ... East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. ...

Prior to reunification, it consisted of 14 smaller districts and East Berlin which received the equivalent status of a district in 1961. The districts were named after their metropoles: Rostock, Neubrandenburg, Schwerin, Potsdam, Frankfurt (Oder), Magdeburg, Cottbus, Halle, Leipzig, Erfurt, Dresden, Karl-Marx-Stadt (called Chemnitz until 1953 and again after 1990), Gera, and Suhl.

In 1955 the Republic was declared by the Soviet Union to be fully sovereign; however, Soviet troops remained, based on the four-power Potsdam agreement, just as British, Canadian and American forces remained in West Germany. As NATO troops remained in West Berlin and West Germany, East Germany and Berlin in particular became focal points of Cold War tensions. East Germany was a member of the Warsaw Pact and a close ally of the Soviet Union. Following the initial opening of sections of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, new elections were held on March 18, 1990, and the governing party, the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, lost its majority in the Volkskammer (the East German parliament) soon after. On August 23, the Volkskammer decided that the territory of the Republic would accede to the ambit of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany on October 3, 1990. As a result of the unification on that date, the German Democratic Republic officially ceased to exist. Sovereignty is the exclusive right to have control over an area of governance, people, or oneself. ... CCCP redirects here. ... This article is about the military alliance. ... Boroughs of West Berlin West Berlin was the name given to the western part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... -1... View in 1986 from the west side of graffiti art on the walls infamous death strip Walls poster in memory of the fall. ... is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 77th day of the year (78th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... The party emblem represented the handshake between Communist Wilhelm Pieck and Social Democrat Otto Grotewohl when their parties merged in 1946 The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) (German: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands) was the governing party of East Germany from its formation in 1949 until the elections of 1990. ... The Volkskammer (Peoples Chamber) was the de jure Legislature of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). ... {| style=float:right; |- | |- | |} is the 235th day of the year (236th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... In negotiation, an ambit claim is an extravagant initial demand made in expectation of an eventual counter-offer and compromise. ... Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitution[1] of Germany. ... is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... This article is about the 1990 German reunification. ...

History

Main article: History of the German Democratic Republic

The territories of East Germany were settled by Germanic peoples during the last few centuries BC. During the post-Roman migration period, many of these populations left for other lands, and Slavic Wends settled in their wake. German imperial rulers conquered the area during the Middle Ages. The newly acquired land was organized in margravates, German feudal states on the land of Slavs. Consequent waves of German settlements, which in subsequent centuries later included French Huguenots and Jews, gradually modified the originally Slavic composition of the land, except for the small community of Sorbs in Lusatia, and eventually most of what is now East Germany formed a large part of the historical Kingdom of Prussia. The flag of the German Democratic Republic, 1959–90 The German Democratic Republic (GDR), German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR), often known in English as East Germany, existed from 1949 to 1990. ... Thor/Donar, Germanic thunder god. ... AD redirects here. ... Human migration denotes any movement of groups of people from one locality to another, rather than of individual wanderers. ... Countries with dominating Slavic ethnicities  West Slavic  East Slavic  South Slavic Slav redirects here. ... Vend redirects here. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Graf is a German noble title equal in rank to a count or an earl. ... In the 16th and 17th centuries, the name of Huguenots came to apply to members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France. ... The Sorbs are a Slavic minority indigenous to the region known as Lusatia in the current German states of Saxony and Brandenburg (in former GDR territory). ... Lusatia (German: , Upper Sorbian: , Lower Sorbian: , Polish: , Czech: ) is a historical region between the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers and the Elbe river in the eastern German states of Saxony and Brandenburg, south-western Poland (Lower Silesian Voivodeship) and the northern Czech Republic. ... Anthem Preußenlied, Heil dir im Siegerkranz (both unofficial) The Kingdom of Prussia at its greatest extent, at the time of the formation of the German Empire, 1871 Capital Berlin Government Monarchy King  - 1701 — 1713 Frederick I (first)  - 1888 — 1918 William II (last) Prime minister  - 1848 Adolf Heinrich von Arnim...

Districts from 1952 until reunification (1990)

In Imperial Germany and later during the time of the Weimar Republic, territory that would become East Germany was situated in the center of the state. This territory was known as "Mitteldeutschland" (Middle Germany), while the designation "East" was reserved for provinces such as eastern Pomerania, eastern Brandenburg, Silesia and East and West Prussia. During World War II, Allied leaders decided at the Yalta Conference that post-war borders of Poland would be moved westward to the Oder-Neisse line, just as Soviet borders were also moved westward into formerly Polish territory. This article or section should include material from German Monarchy The term German Empire (the translation from German of Deutsches Reich) commonly refers to Germany, from its consolidation as a unified nation-state on January 18, 1871, until the abdication of Kaiser (Emperor) Wilhelm II on November 9, 1918. ... Anthem Das Lied der Deutschen Germany during the Weimar period, with the Free State of Prussia (in blue) as the largest state Capital Berlin Language(s) German Government Republic President  - 1918-1925 Friedrich Ebert  - 1925-1933 Paul von Hindenburg Chancellor  - 1919 Philipp Scheidemann(first)  - 1933 Kurt von Schleicher (last) Legislature... Pommern redirects here. ... For the similarly spelled Brandenberg, see Brandenberg (Austria) or Brandenburg (disambiguation) Location Coordinates , , Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Administration Country NUTS Region DE4 Capital Potsdam Minister-President Matthias Platzeck (SPD) Governing parties SPD / CDU Votes in Bundesrat 4 (of 69) Basic statistics Area  29,479 km² (11,382... Silesia (English pronunciation [], Czech: ; German: ; Latin: ; Polish: ; Silesian: Åšlůnsk) is a historical region in central Europe, located along the upper and middle Oder River, upper Vistula River, and along the Sudetes, Carpathian (Silesian Beskids) mountain range. ... East Prussia (German: Ostpreu en; Polish: Prusy Wschodnie; Russian: Восточная Пруссия — Vostochnaya Prussiya) was a province of Kingdom of Prussia, situated on the territory of former Ducal Prussia. ... One of four districts of East Prussia in 1920 - 1938. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The Big Three at the Yalta Conference, Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin. ... The Oder-Neisse line (Polish: , German: ) marked the border between German Democratic Republic and Poland between 1950 and 1990. ...

Discussions at Yalta and Potsdam also outlined the planned occupation and administration of post-war Germany under a four-power Allied Control Council, or ACC (composed of the United States, United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union). At the end of World War II, at the Potsdam Conference in 1945, France, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union decided to divide Germany into four occupation zones. Each country would control a part of Germany until its sovereignty was restored. Kammergericht, Headquarters of the Allied Control Council The Allied Control Council or Allied Control Authority, known in German as the Alliierter Kontrollrat, also referred to as the Four Powers, was a military occupation governing body of the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany after the end of World War II in... Harry S. Truman and Joseph Stalin meeting at the Potsdam Conference on July 18, 1945. ...

The Länder (states) of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, fell in the Soviet Zone of Germany (in German: Sowjetische Besatzungszone, or SBZ). Soviet objections to economic and political changes in western (US, UK, and French) occupation zones led to Soviet withdrawal from the ACC in 1948 and subsequent evolution of the SBZ into East Germany, including the Soviet sector of Berlin. Concurrently, the Western occupation zones consolidated to form West Germany (or the Federal Republic of Germany, FRG). Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (German: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) is a state in northern Germany. ... For the similarly spelled Brandenberg, see Brandenberg (Austria) or Brandenburg (disambiguation) Location Coordinates , , Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Administration Country NUTS Region DE4 Capital Potsdam Minister-President Matthias Platzeck (SPD) Governing parties SPD / CDU Votes in Bundesrat 4 (of 69) Basic statistics Area  29,479 km² (11,382... Location Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Administration Country NUTS Region DED Capital Dresden Minister-President Georg Milbradt (CDU) Governing parties CDU / SPD Votes in Bundesrat 4 (from 69) Basic statistics Area  18,416 km² (7,110 sq mi) Population 4,252,000 (11/2006)[1]  - Density 231 /km... With an area of 20,447 km² and a population of 2. ... The Free State of Thuringia (German: Freistaat Thüringen) is located in central Germany and is considered one of the smaller of Germanys sixteen Bundesländer (federal states), with an area of 16,200 km² and 2. ...

Three German states and divided Berlin in late 1949. The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) consists of the American, British and French Zones (without the Saarland). The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) is formed from the Soviet Zone.

Officially, both the western Allies and the Communists committed to maintaining a unified Germany after the war in the Potsdam Agreement, at least on paper. The 1952 Stalin Note proposed German reunification and superpower disengagement from Central Europe, but the United States and its allies rejected the offer. Stalin died in early 1953. Though powerful Soviet politician Lavrenty Beria briefly pursued the idea of German unification once more following Stalin's death, he was arrested and removed from office in a coup d'etat in mid-1953. His successor, Nikita Khrushchev, firmly rejected the idea of handing eastern Germany over to be annexed, marking the end of any serious consideration of the unification idea until the collapse of the Communist East German government in 1989. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Federal Republic of Germany can refer to two things: West Germany from 1949-1990 Germany since German reunification in 1990 ... The Saar, corresponding to the current German state of Saarland, was a protectorate under French control between 1947 and 1959. ... “East Germany” redirects here. ... The Potsdam Agreement, or the Potsdam Proclamation, was an agreement on policy for the occupation and reconstruction of Germany and other nations after fighting in the European Theatre of World War II had ended with the German surrender of May 8, 1945. ... The four occupation zones in post-war Germany The 1952 Stalin Note, a. ... This article is about the 1990 German reunification. ... Superpower Disengagement refers to the German reunification plan proposed by Stalin in 1952. ... Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ... Iosif (usually anglicized as Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин), original name Ioseb Jughashvili (Georgian: იოსებ ჯუღაშვილი; see Other names section) (December 21, 1879[1] – March 5, 1953) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and leader of the Soviet Union. ... Lavrenty Beria Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (Georgian: ლავრენტი ბერია; Russian: Лаврентий Павлович Берия; (29 March 1899 – 23 December 1953), was a Soviet politician and chief of the Soviet security and police apparatus. ... A coup détat, or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually done by a small group that just replaces the top power figures. ... Khrushchev redirects here. ...

Just as Germany was divided after the war, Berlin, the former capital of Germany, was divided into four sectors. East Germany and the rest of the Eastern bloc considered East Berlin to be the capital of East Germany, although the legality of this was disputed by the western Allies, as the entire city was formally considered an occupied territory governed by martial law through the Allied Control Council. In practice, the Allied Control Council quickly became moot as the Cold War intensified, and the eastern government ignored the technical legal restrictions on how East Berlin could be used. This article is about the capital of Germany. ... A map of the Eastern Bloc 1948-1989. ... East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. ... The Western Allies were the democracies and their colonial peoples, within the broader coalition of Allies during World War II. The term is generally understood to refer to the countries of the British Commonwealth of Nations and Poland (from 1939), exiled forces from Occupied Europe (from 1940), the United States... An occupied territory is a region that has been taken over by a sovereign power after a military intervention, see belligerent occupation. ... Battlespace Weapons Tactics Strategy Organization Logistics Lists War Portal         For other uses, see Martial law (disambiguation). ... Kammergericht, Headquarters of the Allied Control Council The Allied Control Council or Allied Control Authority, known in German as the Alliierter Kontrollrat, also referred to as the Four Powers, was a military occupation governing body of the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany after the end of World War II in... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ...

Conflict over the status of West Berlin led to the Berlin Blockade, when the Soviet government prohibited overland transit between the western zones of Germany and West Berlin, prompting the massive Berlin Airlift. Boroughs of West Berlin West Berlin was the name given to the western part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. ... Occupation zones after 1945. ... The Soviet Union blocked Western rail and road access to West Berlin from June 24, 1948 - May 11, 1949. ...

History of Germany
Ancient times
Germanic peoples
Migration Period
Frankish Empire
Medieval times
East Francia
Kingdom of Germany
Holy Roman Empire
East Colonisation
Sectionalism
Building a nation
Confederation of the Rhine
German Confederation
German Revolutions of 1848
German Reichsflotte Navy
North German Confederation
Unification of Germany
The German Reich
German Empire
World War I
Weimar Republic
Nazi Germany
World War II
Post-war Germany since 1945
Occupation + Ostgebiete
Expulsion of Germans
FR Germany + GDR
German reunification
Present day Germany
Federal Republic of Germany
Topical
Military history of Germany
Territorial changes of Germany
Timeline of German history
History of the German language
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The first leader of East Germany was Wilhelm Pieck, the first (and as it turned out, only) President of the Republic. However, after 1950 the real power rested with Walter Ulbricht, first secretary of the Socialist Unity Party, the ruling Communist party. The History of Germany begins with the establishment of the nation from Ancient Roman times to the 8th century, and then continues into the Holy Roman Empire dating from the 9th century until 1806 . ... Download high resolution version (976x718, 175 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Thor/Donar, Germanic thunder god. ... Human migration denotes any movement of groups of people from one locality to another, rather than of individual wanderers. ... Statue of Charlemagne (also called Karl der Große, Charles the Great) in Frankfurt, Germany. ... Eastern Francia were the lands of Louis the German after the Treaty of Verdun of 843. ... The Kingdom of Germany was a medieval state[1] which grew out of that of East Francia in the tenth century, when the term regnum Teutonicum first came into informal use. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... This article is about the medieval empire. ... Image File history File links Den_tyske_ordens_skjold. ... Evolution of German linguistic area from 700 to 1950 Settlement in the East (German: ), also known as German eastward expansion, refers to the eastward migration and settlement of Germans into regions inhabited since the Great Migrations by the Balts, Romanians, Hungarians and, since about the 8th century, the Slavs. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Kleinstaaterei, a German word for the occurence of (many) petty states is a polyvalent term, mainly used for the internal state of Germany (and neighbouring regions) during the Holy Roman Empire, especially in its late phase, when it was officially known as Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The Confederation of the Rhine in 1812 Capital Frankfurt Political structure Confederation Protector Napoleon I Primate  - 1806-1813 Karl von Dalberg  - 1813 Eugène de Beauharnais Historical era Napoleonic Wars  - Formation 12 July, 1806  - Collapse 19 October, 1813 The Confederation of the Rhine or Rhine Confederation (German: ; French: ) lasted from... Image File history File links Wappen_Deutscher_Bund. ... The German Confederation (German: Deutscher Bund) was the association of Central European states created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to organize the surviving states of the Holy Roman Empire, which had been abolished in 1806. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... Germany at the time of the Revolutions of 1848 had been a collection of 38 states loosely bound together in the German Confederation. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_German_Empire. ... Map of the North German Confederation Capital Berlin Political structure Federation Presidency Prussia (William I) Chancellor Otto von Bismarck History  - Constitution tabelled April 16, 1867  - Confederation formed July 1, 1867  - Elevation to empire January 18, 1871 The North German Federation (in German, Norddeutscher Bund) came into existence in 1867, following... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_German_Empire. ... This article is about the 1871 German Empire. ... The history of Germany is, in places, extremely complicated and depends much on how one defines Germany. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_German_Empire. ... For German colonial territories, see German Colonial Empire. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... During World War I, the German Empire was one of the Central Powers that ultimately lost the war. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany_(2-3). ... Anthem Das Lied der Deutschen Germany during the Weimar period, with the Free State of Prussia (in blue) as the largest state Capital Berlin Language(s) German Government Republic President  - 1918-1925 Friedrich Ebert  - 1925-1933 Paul von Hindenburg Chancellor  - 1919 Philipp Scheidemann(first)  - 1933 Kurt von Schleicher (last) Legislature... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany_1933. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Image File history File links War_Ensign_of_Germany_1938-1945. ... The history of Germany during World War II closely parallels that of Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler. ... Following Germanys defeat in World War II and the beginning of the Cold War, Germany was split, representing the focus of the two global blocs in the east and west. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany_(1946-1949). ... The C-Pennant Occupation zones in Germany (1945) Capital Berlin (de jure) Political structure Military occupation Governors (1945)  - UK zone F.M. Montgomery  - French zone Gen. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Poland. ... Former eastern territories of Germany (German: ) describes collectively those provinces or regions east of the Oder-Neisse line which were internationally recognised as part of the territory of Germany after the formation of the German Empire in 1871. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany_(1946-1949). ... Germans expelled from the Sudetenland The expulsion of Germans after World War II refers to the forced migration and ethnic cleansing of German nationals (Reichsdeutsche) and ethnic Germans (Volksdeutsche) from Germany and parts of territory formerly claimed by Germany in the first three years after World War II. The policy... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... West Germany was the informal but almost universally used name for the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 until 1990, during which years the Federal Republic did not yet include East Germany. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_East_Germany. ... “East Germany” redirects here. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... This article is about the 1990 German reunification. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... Image File history File links Bundeswehr_Kreuz. ... While German-speaking peoples have a long history, Germany as a nation-state dates only from 1871. ... // Part of the motivation behind the territorial changes are based on events in the history of Germany and Europe, especially Eastern Europe. ... This is a timeline of German history. ... The history of German as separate from common West Germanic begins in the Early Middle Ages with the High German consonant shift. ... Wilhelm Pieck (January 3, 1876 - September 7, 1960) was a German communist, politician and president of East Germany. ... Walter Ulbricht (June 30, 1893 – August 1, 1973) was a German communist politician. ... The name Socialist Unity Party can refer to at several different organizations, most of them defunct. ... In modern usage, the term communist party is generally used to identify any political party which has adopted communist ideology. ...

On June 16, 1953, following a production quota increase of 10 percent for workers building East Berlin's new boulevard the Stalinallee, (today's Karl-Marx-Allee), demonstrations by disgruntled workers broke out in East Berlin. The next day the protests spread across East Germany with more than a million on strike and demonstrations in 700 communities. Fearing revolution the government requested the aid of Soviet occupation troops and on the morning of the 18th tanks and soldiers were dispatched who dealt harshly with protesters. The result was some fifty deaths and a wave of arrests and jail sentences numbering over 10,000.^[1] Transit between West and East Berlin was relatively free at the time, meaning that the protests and the harsh Soviet reaction unfolded in full view of many western observers. See Uprising of 1953 in East Germany. is the 167th day of the year (168th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Karl-Marx-Allee, towards Strausberger Platz. ... East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. ... Protesters marching through the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin The Uprising of 1953 in East Germany took place in June and July 1953. ...

During the early stages of the occupation, the Red Army seized a great deal of industrial equipment from eastern Germany to be shipped back to the Soviet Union as war reparations, crippling the East German economy for years. The increasing economic prosperity of West Germany led large numbers of East Germans to flee to the West. Since the 1940s, East Germans had been leaving the Soviet zone of Germany to emigrate to the west. The ongoing emigration of East Germans further strained the East German economy. Although the border between the two German states was largely closed by the mid-1950s (see Inner German border), the sector borders in Berlin were relatively easy to cross. Due to the lure of higher salaries in the West and political oppression in the East, many skilled workers (such as doctors) crossed into the West, causing a 'brain drain' in the East. However, on the night of August 13, 1961, East German troops sealed the border between West and East Berlin and started to build the Berlin Wall, literally and physically enclosing West Berlin. Travel was greatly restricted into, and out of, East Germany. A highly effective security force called the Stasi monitored the lives of East German citizens to suppress dissenters through its network of informants and agents. For other organizations known as the Red Army, see Red Army (disambiguation). ... War reparations refer to the monetary compensation provided to a triumphant nation or coalition from a defeated nation or coalition. ... Republikflucht is the German term given to the process by which people left the German Democratic Republic (GDR) for a life in West Germany or indeed any other Western country. ... The sectors of occupation in 1949. ... This article is about the emigration term. ... is the 225th day of the year (226th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... View in 1986 from the west side of graffiti art on the walls infamous death strip Walls poster in memory of the fall. ... Logo of East Germanys Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS or Stasi) / Ministry for State Security This article is about Stasi, the secret police of East Germany. ...

In 1971, Ulbricht was forced out as head of state under Soviet pressure, and replaced by Erich Honecker. Ulbricht had experimented with a few reforms, but Honecker tightened the reins and imposed a new constitution that used the word "German" sparingly and defined the country as a "republic of workers and peasants." East Germany was generally regarded as the most economically advanced member of the Warsaw Pact. Erich Honecker (August 25, 1912 – May 29, 1994) was a German Communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1971 until 1989. ... The German Democratic Republic (GDR), often known in English as East Germany, was founded in 1949 and was absorbed into the Federal Republic of Germany on 3 October 1990. ... -1...

Until the 1970s, West Germany regarded East Germany as an illegally constituted state, and under the Hallstein Doctrine refused to have diplomatic relations with any country (except the Soviet Union) that recognized East Germany as a separate country. In the early 1970s, Ostpolitik led by Willy Brandt led to a form of mutual recognition between East and West Germany. The Treaty of Moscow (August 1970), the Treaty of Warsaw (December 1970), the Four Power Agreement on Berlin (September 1971), the Transit Agreement (May 1972), and the Basic Treaty (December 1972) helped to normalize relations between East and West Germany and led to both German states joining the United Nations. The Hallstein Doctrine, named after Walter Hallstein, was a key doctrine in the foreign policy of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) between 1955 and 1969. ... Ostpolitik or Eastern Politics describes the realisation of the Change through Rapprochement principle, verbalised by Egon Bahr in 1963, by the effort of Willy Brandt, Chancellor of West Germany, to normalize relations with Eastern European nations including East Germany. ... For the Oz character, see Willy Brandt (Oz). ... The Treaty of Moscow, was signed on August 12, 1970 between the USSR and West Germany. ... The Treaty of Warsaw is a treaty between West Germany and the Peoples Republic of Poland. ... The Four Power Agreement on Berlin[1] was signed on 3 September 1971 by the foreign ministers of the four powers, United Kingdom, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, France, and the United States. ... The Transit Agreement of May 1972 arranged access to and from West Berlin from West Germany (the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG)) and secured the right of West Berliners to visit East Berlin and East Germany (the German Democratic Republic (GDR)) and also secured the rights of GDR citizens to... The Basic Treaty in common usage stands for the Treaty concerning the basis of relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic. The Basic Treaty of 1972 was part of the Ostpolitik under Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt. ... UN redirects here. ...

Competition with the West was also conducted on a sporting level. East German athletes dominated several Olympic disciplines. Of special interest was the only football match ever to occur between West and East Germany, a first round match during the 1974 World Cup. Though West Germany was the host and the eventual champion, East beat West 1-0. The five Olympic rings were designed in 1913, adopted in 1914 and debuted at the Games at Antwerp, 1920. ... Soccer redirects here. ... The 1974 FIFA World Cup, the tenth staging of the World Cup, was held in West Germany from June 13 to July 7. ...

In 1989, following widespread public anger over the results of local government elections that spring, many citizens applied for exit visas, or left the country illegally. In August 1989 Hungary removed its border restrictions and unsealed its border and more than 13,000 people left East Germany by crossing the "green" border via Czechoslovakia into Hungary and then on to Austria and West Germany.^[2] Many others demonstrated against the ruling party, especially in the city of Leipzig. Kurt Masur, the conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra led local negotiations with the government, and held town meetings in the concert hall.^[3] The demonstrations eventually led Erich Honecker to resign in October, and he was replaced by a slightly more liberal Communist, Egon Krenz. Monday demonstration in Leipzig The 1989 Monday demonstrations in the East German city of Leipzig were a series of peaceful political protests against the East German government. ... Kurt Masur Conducting Mendelssohns Scottish Symphony Kurt Masur (born July 18, 1927) is a German conductor. ... The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra is a German orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. ... Egon Krenz (born 19 March 1937) is a former German Communist politician, who briefly served as leader of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in 1989 before the end of Communist rule. ...

On November 9, 1989, a few sections of the Berlin Wall were opened, resulting in thousands of East Germans crossing into West Berlin and West Germany for the first time. Soon, the governing party of East Germany resigned. Although there were some small attempts to create a permanent, democratic East Germany, these were soon overwhelmed by calls for unification with West Germany. After some negotiations (2+4 Talks, involving the two German states and the former Allied Powers United States, France, United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union), conditions for German unification were agreed upon. East Germany recreated the original five states that had been abolished in 1952. On October 3, 1990; the five East German states officially joined the Federal Republic of Germany, while East and West Berlin united as a third city-state (in the same manner as Bremen and Hamburg). is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... The Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany is the final peace treaty negotiated between the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, and the Four Powers which occupied Germany at the end of World War II in Europe: France, the United Kingdom, the United States and... This article is about the independent states that comprised the Allies. ... The New Länder (German: Neue Länder) are collectively the states (Länder) of the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany) that joined the Federal Republic of Germany upon German reunification in 1990. ... is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... The Federal Republic of Germany can refer to two things: West Germany from 1949-1990 Germany since German reunification in 1990 ... This article is about the city in Germany. ... For other uses, see Hamburg (disambiguation). ...

To this day, there remain vast differences between the former East Germany and West Germany (for example, in lifestyle, wealth, political beliefs and other matters) and thus it is still common to speak of eastern and western Germany distinctly. The Eastern German economy has struggled since unification, and large subsidies are still transferred from west to east.

Politics

Main article: Politics of East Germany

The SED emblem represented the handshake between Communist Wilhelm Pieck and Social Democrat Otto Grotewohl when their parties merged in 1946

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