Division, GDR and reunification
Teilung, DDR und Wiedervereinigung
After reading, you will understand how Germany was divided into two states, what life in the GDR was like and how Germany was reunited in 1990.
Occupation zones and Berlin after 1945
In 1945 the Second World War ended. Germany had lost, and four victorious countries took charge of the country. They are called the Allied occupying powers (Alliierte Besatzungsmächte).
- The USA
- The Soviet Union (Sowjetunion)
- Great Britain (Großbritannien)
- France (Frankreich)
Each power governed its own area. So Germany had four occupation zones (Besatzungszonen). Japan was not an occupying power in Germany. On the map in the question, zone 1 (north-west) was British, zone 2 (east) Soviet, zone 3 (south) American and zone 4 (south-west) French.
The old capital Berlin lay inside the Soviet zone, but the city was still divided into four parts, called sectors (Sektoren), one for each of the four powers.
From June 1948 to May 1949 the Soviet Union stopped all traffic by land into West Berlin. The people of West Berlin were therefore supplied by aircraft. This was the airlift (Luftbrücke).
Two German states in 1949
The western zones and the eastern zone developed in different directions. In 1949 two separate states were founded.
- The Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland) was founded in 1949 in the western zones.
- The German Democratic Republic (Deutsche Demokratische Republik), short GDR (DDR), was founded in 1949 in the Soviet occupation zone.
- The GDR existed from 1949 to 1990.
The first Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic was Konrad Adenauer. He led the government from the first years.
In the 1950s the economy of West Germany grew very strongly and living standards rose clearly. This period is called the economic miracle (Wirtschaftswunder).
Life in the GDR
The GDR was a dictatorship. The Ministry for State Security (Ministerium für Staatssicherheit), short Stasi, was the secret service of the GDR. The Stasi watched the people.
The economy of the GDR was a planned economy (Planwirtschaft): the state decided what was produced. This is not a market economy (Marktwirtschaft), where supply and demand decide.
The GDR had a black, red and gold flag (Flagge) with a hammer, a compass and a wreath of grain. The coat of arms of the GDR shows these symbols as well.
On 17 June 1953 there was an uprising (Volksaufstand) of the people in the GDR, with strikes across the whole country. In the Federal Republic this date was for many years a public holiday of remembrance.
The Berlin Wall
Many people left the GDR for the west through Berlin. To stop this, the GDR built the Berlin Wall (Mauer) in 1961. It was not Great Britain, the USA or the Federal Republic that built the wall, but the GDR.
From 1961 to 1989 Berlin was divided by a wall. Berlin was not a state of its own, and it was not reachable only by aircraft.
In 1989 the wall was opened for everyone. This was a major step on the way to German unity.
The turning point and reunification
In autumn 1989 people in the GDR took to the streets in the Monday demonstrations (Montagsdemonstrationen). They shouted "Wir sind das Volk", which means "We are the people".
This time is called the turning point (Die Wende). The GDR changed politically: from a dictatorship (Diktatur) to a democracy (Demokratie).
In 1990 the five eastern states of today joined the Federal Republic. This was the accession (Beitritt). The Federal Republic did not occupy the GDR, and the GDR did not occupy the Federal Republic. So five new states (Bundesländer) were added at the reunification (Wiedervereinigung) in 1990.
Through the accession the new states also belong to the European Union (Europäische Union). Since 1990 the Federal Republic has had the borders it has today. Helmut Kohl is called the "Chancellor of German Unity".
Earlier, Willy Brandt was the politician linked to the Eastern Treaties (Ostverträge), agreements meant to improve relations with the countries in the east.