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Learn about the German Democratic Republic, a communist state in Central Europe that existed from 1949 to 1990. Find out how it was formed, how it was ruled by the SED, and how it was reunified with West Germany.
Sep 14, 2024 · Learn about East Germany, the former communist state that existed from 1949 to 1990 as part of the Warsaw Pact. Explore its geography, politics, culture, and relations with West Germany and the Soviet Union.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Five months after declaration of the western Federal Republic of Germany (better known as West Germany), on October 7, 1949, the DWK formed a provisional government and proclaimed establishment of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).
- Widespread Rape
- Industries Confiscated
- Land Expropriated
- Berlin Blockade
- The Rise of The Socialist Unity Party
- German Democratic Republic Established
- Centrally Planned Economy Imposed
- Exodus Increases
- Unification Considered
- Uprising and Crackdown
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Norman Naimark writes in The Russians in Germany: A History of the Soviet Zone of Occupation, 1945-1949. that although the exact number of women and girls who were rapedby members of the Red Army in the months preceding and years following the capitulation will never be known, their numbers are likely in the hundreds of thousands, quite possibly as...
Each occupation power assumed rule in its zone by June 1945. The powers originally pursued a common German policy, focused on denazification and demilitarization in preparation for the restoration of a democratic German nation-state. Over time, however, the western zones and the Soviet zone drifted apart economically, not least because of the Sovie...
The agrarian reform expropriated all land belonging to former Nazis and war criminals and generally limited ownership to one square kilometer. Some 500 Junker estates were converted into collective people's farms, and more than 30,000 km² were distributed among 500,000 peasant farmers, agricultural laborers, and refugees. Also, state farms were set...
Growing economic differences combined with developing political tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union (which would eventually develop into the Cold War) and manifested in the refusal in 1947 of the SMAD to take part in America's Marshall Plan. In March 1948, the United States, Britain, and France met in London and agreed to unite the Weste...
Permission was granted for the formation of anti-fascist democratic political parties in the Soviet zone, with elections to new state legislatures scheduled for October 1946. A democratic-anti-fascist coalition, which included the KPD, the SPD, the new Christian Democratic Union (Christlich-Demokratische Union—CDU), and the Liberal Democratic Party...
In November 1948, the German Economic Commission (Deutsche Wirtschaftskomission—DWK), including anti-fascist bloc representation, assumed administrative authority. Five weeks after declaration of the western Federal Republic of Germany, on October 7, 1949, a constitution ratified by the People's Congress went into effect in the Soviet zone, which b...
The Socialist Unity Party concentrated on building an economy in a territory lacking natural resources, that was less than one-half the size of the Federal Republic, and which had a population one-third as large. The industrial sector, employing 40 percent of the working population, was subjected to further nationalization, resulting in the formati...
The standard of living lagged far behind that of West Germany. Food rationing continued long after it had ended in West Germany. Thousands of farmers fled to West Germany each year rather than merge their land into the collective farms. The pressures of the plan, plus relentless ideological indoctrination, repression of dissent, and harassment of c...
The 1952, the Stalin Note proposed German unification and superpower disengagement from Central Europe but the United States and its allies rejected the offer. Soviet leader Josef Stalin died in March 1953. Though powerful Soviet politician Lavrenty Beria briefly pursued the idea of German unification once more following Stalin's death, he was arre...
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 first popular uprising in the postwar Soviet bloc. The next day the protests spread across East Germany with more than ...
A comprehensive overview of the history, politics, and culture of the former German Democratic Republic, a communist state that existed from 1949 to 1990. Learn about the division of Germany, the Berlin Wall, the reunification, and the legacy of the Cold War.
1 day ago · Learn about the history and features of the communist regime in East Germany, which was part of a capitalist economy before the war. Find out how the command economy, the gray market, and the reunification affected the living standards and the industrial sector.
East Germany (the German Democratic Republic, or GDR) was an independent socialist state. It was formed in October 1949 from the Soviet occupation zone in Germany.
Learn how the United States responded to the division of Germany after World War II and the establishment of the GDR in 1949. Find out when and why the U.S. recognized the GDR in 1974 and how it dealt with the reunification of Germany in 1990.
