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Mannequins in front of a GDR flag, dressed as GDR soldiers and GDR police
Image: Jens Büttner/dpa/picture allianceImage: Jens Büttner/dpa/picture alliance

East Germany (GDR)

Declared in 1949, the German Democratic Republic was a Socialist-run state in the Soviet-occupied east after World War II. Following protests in 1989, the GDR ceased to exist with the reunification of Germany in 1990.

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News

October 29, 2024

Ikea to compensate East German prisoners for forced labor

Skip next section Reports & Analysis

Reports & Analysis

DW reporter Anooshay Abid walking next to remains of the Berlin Wall

35 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall

35 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall used to divide the German capital. DW shows you where you can still see some of its remains.
HistoryNovember 5, 202416:24 min
Picture of the bare backs of three people sitting on the sand at a beach.

Is Germany drawing the curtain on nudism?

Is Germany drawing the curtain on nudism?

The German Association for Free Body Culture turns 75, but the country is seeing changing attitudes towards naturism.
LifestyleNovember 5, 2024
Black and white photo of women at sewing machines in the women's' prison in Hoheneck, 1990s

Victims of East Germany's dictatorship hope for compensation

Victims of East Germany's dictatorship hope for compensation

Ikea was among many companies that profited from forced labor in prisons under the former East German dictatorship.
PoliticsNovember 2, 2024
candles with the inscription '89

Leipzig marks the beginning of a peaceful revolution

Leipzig marks the beginning of a peaceful revolution

On October 9, 1989, East Germans in Leipzig set off a chain of events that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
HistoryOctober 9, 202401:15 min
Two GDR symbols: A flag of the GDR hanging on the Berlin Wall in 1990

East Germany: A failed experiment in dictatorship

East Germany: A failed experiment in dictatorship

Germany was divided between 1945 and 1990, but one can still feel it.
HistoryOctober 7, 2024
People stand with German flags in front of the Brandenburg Gate at night, in 1989

Defending the legacy of East Germany's peaceful revolution

Defending the legacy of East Germany's peaceful revolution

Three decades after German reunification, the anti-immigrant AfD is on the rise. Former rights activists are outraged.
PoliticsOctober 3, 202402:49 min
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Skip next section In the spotlight

In the spotlight

Martin Schirdewan and Janine Wissler

Germany's Left Party on the brink of oblivion

The most important socialist voice in the country's political landscape is struggling for survival.
PoliticsAugust 20, 2024
The official mascot of UEFA EURO 2024 stands by the trophy

Euro 2024: The west continues to dominate German sports

Of the 10 cities hosting matches for the European Football Championship, only one is located in former East Germany.
SportsJune 6, 2024
people standing atop the Berlin Wall on December 22, 1989, holding a banner reading "Germany, united Fatherland"

Understanding how Germany and Europe ended the Cold War

A new way to present history in the classroom: A traveling exhibit illustrates the recent German and European past.
HistoryMarch 23, 2024
A man in a group of protesters holds up a protest sign, a red stop sign with the words "Stop Nazis"

East Germans take a stand against the far right

As Germany sees an ongoing wave of protests against the far right, new alliances are emerging in the east.
SocietyFebruary 2, 2024
Wolfgang Schäuble, an older man wearing rimless glasses, looking thoughtful (black and white image)

Wolfgang Schäuble: A veteran heavyweight of German politics

Wolfgang Schäuble, a politician with passion and a Protestant sense of duty, shaped German politics for half a century.
PoliticsDecember 27, 2023
Leonardo Fossati Ortega at the Berlin exhibtion

German exhibition shines light on child abduction

An exhibition in Berlin shines a light on this grim reality of children being abducted to coerce or punish others.
ConflictsNovember 23, 2023
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