I.

Introduction

East Germany, common name of a former republic of central Europe, bordered on the north by the Baltic Sea, on the east by Poland, on the south by the Czech Republic, and on the south and west by the former West Germany. East Germany had an area of 108,178 sq km (41,768 sq mi). It was established officially as the German Democratic Republic (GDR; German Deutsche Demokratische Republik) on October 7, 1949, as one of two successor states—West Germany (officially the Federal Republic of Germany, or the FRG) being the other—to the nation of Germany after its defeat in World War II (1939-1945). East Germany ceased to exist when it reunified with West Germany on October 3, 1990.

East Germany occupied the areas which are now the German states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony (Sachsen), Saxony-Anhalt, and Thüringen. The republic named East Berlin (see Berlin) as its capital, a selection which other nations refused to recognize. At the time of reunification, the republic had about 16 million inhabitants.

East Germany, established under Soviet auspices in 1949 in reaction to the Allied-sponsored founding of West Germany, insisted on international recognition as an independent Communist state. Despite Soviet demands for heavy reparations, it developed a potent economy and held a key position in the Soviet bloc.