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The German Democratic Republic (GDR), commonly known as East Germany, was a socialist state in Central Europe that existed from 1949 to 1990. It occupied the Soviet-occupied zone of postwar Germany, with its capital in East Berlin. The ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED) administered a one-party state, a centralized planned economy, and extensive state controls over civil life and travel.

It bordered Poland to the east and Czechoslovakia to the south, and West Germany to the west, with West Berlin as an enclave. The nation had a Baltic Sea coastline in the north, including ports such as Rostock. The Berlin Wall, erected in 1961, symbolized the division of Germany and the Cold War. The GDR was aligned with the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact and Comecon.

Established in 1949 from the Soviet zone, the GDR pursued rapid industrialization, social welfare programs, and education while maintaining extensive security services and censorship. The 1953 uprising demonstrated popular discontent; by the late 1980s, reform movements and mounting economic problems eroded support for the regime. Reunification talks culminated in 1990 with the Treaty on the Final Settlement and currency union.

On October 3, 1990, East and West Germany were reunified, and the five eastern states—Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia—joined the Federal Republic of Germany, with Berlin as the capital of a united Germany. The integration period brought economic disparities, structural adjustment, and ongoing efforts to balance regional development.

The former GDR region retains distinctive cultural and architectural legacies, while its inhabitants participate in the federal republic’s political life and economy.