German Democratic Republic
Cold War state
The German Democratic Republic was the socialist state in eastern Germany from 1949 to 1990, commonly called East Germany.
Established under Soviet occupation after World War II, it was separated from West Germany by the Berlin Wall and heavily controlled by the communist regime.
The GDR dissolved upon German reunification in 1990.
Germany's largest city
- LeipzigMajor Saxon metropolis
- DresdenSaxon capital city
- PotsdamBrandenburg state capital
- MagdeburgGerman state capital
Thuringia · Saxony · Brandenburg · Elbe · Oder-Neisse line
East German secret police
- Warsaw PactSoviet-led military alliance
- Soviet occupationMoscow-controlled territorial dominion
- detenteRelaxation of strained relations
- espionageCovert intelligence gathering
surveillance · Eastern Bloc · Iron Curtain · ideological divide · propaganda · Soviet influence · Brezhnev Doctrine · arms race
East-West Berlin transit point
- death stripFortified area between barriers
- no man's landUnowned space between enemies
- border guardOfficer at national boundaries
- watchtowerElevated structure for surveillance
barbed wire · escape · defection · fall · reunification · graffiti · Brandenburg Gate · tunnel escape
Communist party's governing body
- central planningGovernment directs all production
- state ownershipGovernment possession of assets
- one-party stateSole legal ruling faction
- collectivizationForced communal ownership transfer
five-year plan · nationalization · party line · Stasi · dissidents
Standing in ordered sequence
- apartment blocksMulti-story residential buildings
- ration cardsPermits for limited goods
- collective livingShared domestic arrangement
Berlin
Germany's largest city
Magdeburg · Thuringia · Saxony · Brandenburg · Elbe · Oder-Neisse line
Stasi
East German secret police
- Warsaw PactSoviet-led military alliance
- Soviet occupationMoscow-controlled territorial dominion
- detenteRelaxation of strained relations
espionage · surveillance · Eastern Bloc · Iron Curtain · ideological divide · propaganda · Soviet influence · Brezhnev Doctrine · arms race · containment
Checkpoint Charlie
East-West Berlin transit point
- death stripFortified area between barriers
- no man's landUnowned space between enemies
- border guardOfficer at national boundaries
watchtower · barbed wire · escape · defection · fall · reunification · graffiti · Brandenburg Gate · tunnel escape · balloons
Politburo
Communist party's governing body
- central planningGovernment directs all production
- state ownershipGovernment possession of assets
- one-party stateSole legal ruling faction
collectivization · five-year plan · nationalization · party line · Stasi · dissidents
queuing
Standing in ordered sequence
- apartment blocksMulti-story residential buildings
- ration cardsPermits for limited goods
- collective livingShared domestic arrangement
German Democratic Republicliberal democracy
Rights-based elected governance
free state · constitutional democracy · democratic republic · open society
German, Germany, Germanic, democrat, democracy, democratic, democratically, democratize, democratization