German Democratic Republic Deutsche Demokratische Republik | |||||||||||
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1949–1990 | |||||||||||
Motto: Proletarier aller Länder, vereinigt Euch! English: Workers of the world, unite! | |||||||||||
Anthem: Auferstanden aus Ruinen "Risen from Ruins" | |||||||||||
![]() The German Democratic Republic in 1990 | |||||||||||
Status | Member of the Warsaw Pact (1955–1988) | ||||||||||
Capital | East Berlin | ||||||||||
Common languages | German | ||||||||||
Government | Federal Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist republic (1949–1952) Unitary Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist republic (1952–1989) Unitary parliamentary republic (1989–1990) | ||||||||||
General Secretary | |||||||||||
• 1949–1950 | Wilhelm Pieck (first) | ||||||||||
• 1989 | Egon Krenz (last) | ||||||||||
Head of State | |||||||||||
• 1949–1960 | Wilhelm Pieck (first) | ||||||||||
• 1990 | Sabine Berg.-Pohl (last) | ||||||||||
Head of Government | |||||||||||
• 1949–1964 | Otto Grotewohl (first) | ||||||||||
• 1990 | Lothar de Maizière (last) | ||||||||||
Legislature | Volkskammer | ||||||||||
• State Chamber | Länderkammera | ||||||||||
Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||||
7 October 1949 | |||||||||||
16 June 1953 | |||||||||||
4 June 1961 | |||||||||||
• Admitted to the United Nations | 18 September 1973 | ||||||||||
13 October 1989 | |||||||||||
12 September 1990 | |||||||||||
3 October 1990 | |||||||||||
Area | |||||||||||
1990 | 108,333 km2 (41,828 sq mi) | ||||||||||
Population | |||||||||||
• 1950 | 18388000b | ||||||||||
• 1970 | 17068000 | ||||||||||
• 1990 | 16111000 | ||||||||||
HDI | 0.932 (1998) Error: Invalid HDI value | ||||||||||
Currency | 1949–1964: Deutsche Mark 1964–1967: Mark der Deutschen Notenbank, (1967–1990) Mark der DDR (Three different names for the same currency) Deutsche Mark (from 1 July 1990) | ||||||||||
Driving side | right | ||||||||||
Calling code | 37 | ||||||||||
Internet TLD | .ddc | ||||||||||
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Today part of | ![]() | ||||||||||
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. ^a Dissolved by the Volkskammer on 8 December 1958. ^b Population statistics according to Statistisches Bundesamt.[1] ^c Although .dd was reserved as corresponding ISO code for East Germany, it was not entered to the root before the country was reunited with the west.[2] |
The German Democratic Republic (GDR) (German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR)), commonly called East Germany (German: Ostdeutschland), 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).