The Soviet Occupation Zone (German: Sowjetische Besatzungszone (SBZ) or Ostzone) was the area of eastern Germany occupied by the Soviet Union from 1945 on, at the end of World War II. It became East Germany.

The SBZ was one of the four occupation zones Germany was divided into after World War II. According to the Potsdam Agreement, the Soviet Military Administration in Germany (German initials: SMAD) received occupation orders for the eastern portion of the country. Very soon, the SMAD allowed four political parties to develop, though they were all required to work together under an "All-Party Committee" (the "Nationale Front"). Though this campaign seemed civic-minded, it was to prepare a dictatorship: the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the Communist Party of Germany were merged into the Socialist Unity Party (which became the governing party of East Germany). Finally, the SED created other parties, to weaken the Christian Democratic Union and Liberal Democratic Party of Germany.

Originally, Stalin wanted to Sovietize all of Germany, but when the West resisted this idea, he decided to build a new country out of the Soviet occupation zone.

In 1945, the Soviet occupation zone consisted of the German states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt und Thüringen. On October 8, 1949, they became the German Democratic Republic, usually known simply as East Germany. In 1952, the states were dissolved, and changed to 14 districts (except for East Berlin).

See also

• History of East Germany
• American occupation zone
• British occupation zone
• French occupation zone
• bizone
• trizone