German Democratic Republic

"DDR" redirects here. For other uses, see DDR (disambiguation).

German Democratic Republic Deutsche Demokratische Republik
← 1949–1990 →
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem "Auferstanden aus Ruinen"
Capital	East Berlin
Language(s)	German
Government	Socialist republic
Head of State
- 1949 – 1960	Wilhelm Pieck
- 1960 – 1973	Walter Ulbricht
- 1976 – 1989	Erich Honecker
- 1989	Egon Krenz
- 1989 – 1990	Manfred Gerlach
- 1990	Sabine Bergmann-Pohl
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
- Peace Treaty	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 (M)

The German Democratic Republic (GDR) (German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR)), commonly called East Germany (German: Ostdeutschland), was founded on October 7,1949, after World War II. It was formed from the parts of Germany occupied by the USSR, 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, got back together in 1990.

The GDR was ruled by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). Most people say that it was a dictatorship.

History

After World War II, Germany was divided into four sections, each controlled by a different country. The countries that controlled these parts of Germany were France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Then, the French, American, and British parts of Germany formed West Germany (the Bundesrepublik) and the Soviet section was East Germany.

The first president was Wilhelm Pieck. Walter Ulbricht, the head of the SED, had also very much power. Pieck died in 1960, and Ulbricht became "Chairman of the State Council". So he was now really the head of state.

On 13 August 1961, the Berlin Wall was built. The people in the GDR were not allowed to go to Western countries any more, including West Germany. Many people died when they wanted to cross the Wall, and more than 100 were shot dead by East German soldiers.

After Mikhail Gorbachev had started glasnost and perestroika in the Soviet Union, many people in the GDR wanted reforms, too. In 1989, there were lots of demonstrations against the SED and for democracy and human rights. In the city of Leipzig, people met every Monday and demonstrated, and so these demonstrations are called Montagsdemonstrationen ("Monday Demonstrations"). Erich Honecker had to resign, and on 9 November 1989, the Berlin Wall was opened. Soon the SED lost their power. On 18 March 1990, there were free elections in the GDR. The "Alliance for Germany", a group of political parties who wanted to unify the GDR with West Germany, won that election. This process, when East Germany became a democracy, is known also the Wende in Germany.

In the German reunification, the GDR joined West Germany by ratifying its constitution in 1990. The East German districts were reorganised into the Länder (Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt and Thüringen) and joined West Germany, after which the GDR ceased to exist.

Even though the western and the eastern part joined back together in 1990, people from former West Germany still call people from East Germany "Ossi". This comes from the German word "Osten" which means "East". Ossi is not always meant kindly.

Politics

The leading role of the SED was written down in the constitution of the GDR. There were other parties in the GDR, which were called the Blockparteien ("block parties"), but their job was mostly to do what the SED said:

• CDU (Christlich-Demokratische Union Deutschlands; in English "Christian Democratic Union of Germany") – when Germany was reunified in 1990, this party merged with the West German party of the same name, CDU.
• LDPD (Liberal-Demokratische Partei Deutschlands; in English "Liberal Democratic Party of Germany") – in 1990, it was merged with the West German FDP
• NDPD (National-Demokratische Partei Deutschlands; in English "National Democratic Party of Germany") – it was merged with the FDP, too, and has nothing to do with the NPD
• DBD (Demokratische Bauernpartei Deutschland; in English "Democratic Farmer's Party of Germany") – it was merged with the CDU some months before the German reunification

The Ministry for State Security (in German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit; often called "MfS" or "Stasi") was the East German homeland security service. It searched for people who were against the state, the SED and their politics. The MfS had many informants who told them when some people said or did something against the state. There was a big MfS prison in the town of Bautzen.

Foreign policy

East Germany was a member of the Warsaw Pact. Some people thought the GDR was a puppet state of the Soviet Union.

Economy

In the GDR, there was a planned economy. All big factories and companies were in property of the state (officially Volkseigentum, "people's property"). Only some small companies and shops were private property.

A famous relic of the GDR is the low-powered automobile "Trabant" or Trabi.

Sports

Until 1964, East and West Germany took part in the Olympic Games with only one team for both states. Since 1968, East and West Germany had their own team each.

East German sportspeople were very successful, for example in athletics, cycling, boxing or some winter sports. Famous sportspeople from East Germany were Täve Schur (cycling), Waldemar Cierpinski (athletics), Heike Drechsler (athletics), Olaf Ludwig (cycling), Katarina Witt (ice skating) or Jens Weißflog (ski jumping).

A famous cycling race was the Peace Race (in German: Friedensfahrt).

The East German national football team was not so successful. They were only in one FIFA World Cup. This was the 1974 FIFA World Cup, which took place in West Germany. On 22 June 1974, East Germany played against West Germany. Jürgen Sparwasser shot a goal and East Germany won 1-0.

Athletes

• Uwe Ampler, racing bicyclist
• Karin Büttner-Janz, gymnast
• Ernst Degner, racing motorcyclist
• Thomas Doll, footballer
• Heike Drechsler, athlete
• Mikhail Grabovski, hockey player
• Marita Koch, athlete
• Olaf Ludwig, racing bicyclist
• Uwe Raab, racing bicyclist
• Jürgen Sparwasser, footballer
• Jens Weissflog, skier
• Katarina Witt, ice skater

Holidays

Date	English Name	German Name	Remarks
1 January	New Year's Day	Neujahr
Moveable feast	Good Friday	Karfreitag
Moveable feast	Easter Sunday	Ostersonntag
Moveable feast	Easter Monday	Ostermontag	Was not an official Holiday after 1967.
1 May	May Day	Tag der Arbeit	International Workers' Day
8 May	Victory in Europe Day	Tag der Befreiung	The translation means "Day of Liberation"
Moveable feast	Father's Day / Ascension Day	Vatertag / Christi Himmelfahrt	Thursday after the 5th Sunday after Easter. Was not an official Holiday after 1967.
Moveable feast	Whitmonday	Pfingstmontag	50 days after Easter Sunday
7 October	Republic Day	Tag der Republik	National holiday
25 December	First Day of Christmas	1. Weihnachtsfeiertag
26 December	Second Day of Christmas	2. Weihnachtsfeiertag