The East Germany portal offers an overview of the most important and newest articles on the subject of East Germany, the former Communist state officially known as the German Democratic Republic or GDR The portal contains links to a cross-section of articles from the areas of history and politics, geography and economy, art and culture, and some of the important personalities from the region.
Introduction
East Germany is the common English name for the historical German state known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR) located in
Central Europe from
its formation on 7 October 1949 until
its reunification with
West Germany on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally viewed as a
communist state and described itself as a
socialist "workers' and peasants' state". The
economy of this country was
centrally planned and
state-owned. Although the GDR had to pay substantial war reparations to the Soviets, it became the most successful economy in the
Eastern Bloc.
The following day, The New York Times carried Reagan’s picture on the front page, below the title "Reagan Calls on Gorbachev to Tear Down the Berlin Wall". Its impact on the Kremlin became widely known after the
fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. In the post-
Cold War era, it was often seen as one of the most memorable performances of an American president in Berlin after
John F. Kennedy's "
Ich bin ein Berliner" speech of 1963. It was written by
Peter Robinson—then a speechwriter for the President—who currently hosts the Uncommon Knowledge program of the
Hoover Institution. (Full article...)
The German Democratic Republic, which consisted geographically of what is now eastern Germany, had an area of 107,771 km2 (41,610 mi2), bordering
Czechoslovakia in the south, West Germany in the south and west, the
Baltic Sea to the north, and
Poland in the east.
Much of the territory of the former East Germany lay on the
North German Plain and was largely flat and agricultural apart from low morainic hills left by the ice age. However in the south the land rose to the
Ore Mountains and
Elbe Sandstone Mountains that formed the border with its Communist neighbour, Czechoslovakia.
Image 8Statues of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the Marx-Engels-Forum, Berlin (from Culture of East Germany)
Image 9Occupation zone borders in Germany, 1947. The territories east of the
Oder-Neisse line, under Polish and Soviet administration/annexation, are shown as white, as is the likewise detached
Saar protectorate. Berlin is the multinational area within the Soviet zone. (from History of East Germany)
Image 16Map showing the different borders and territories of Poland and Germany during the 20th century, with the current areas of Germany and Poland in dark gray (from History of East Germany)
The following are articles, related to East Germany, added in the last six months.
Parts of this portal (those related to section) need to be updated. Please help update this portal to reflect recent events or newly available information. Relevant discussion may be found on
the talk page. (September 2020)
All articles on East Germany are here;
Articles on East German people are here.