| a former country in central Europe: created in 1949 from the Soviet zone of occupied Germany established in 1945: reunited with West Germany in 1990. 16,340,000; 41,827 sq. mi. (108,333 sq. km.). Capital: East Berlin. |
| East Germany Officially German Democratic Republic A former country of northern Europe on the Baltic Sea. It was formed in 1949 from the zone of Germany occupied by Soviet troops after World War II. It was reunified with West Germany in 1990. East German adj. & n. |
Former nation in north-central Europe, officially known as the German Democratic Republic from 1949 to 1990, when East and West Germany were reunited. Its capital and largest city was East Berlin.
Note: Former Eastern Bloc and Warsaw Pact nation, established as a republic in 1949; formed out of land in the zone of Germany occupied by the Soviet Union after World War II.
Note: The Berlin Wall was erected in 1961 to keep East Germans from defecting to the West.
Note: Although high for a communist nation, the East German living standard lagged far behind that of western Europe. Popular protests for democracy forced the communist government to open the Berlin Wall in 1989 and allow its citizens to migrate to West Germany. Unable to resist the tide of reform sweeping across communist states, the East German government agreed in 1990 to the reunification of Germany under the leadership of West Germany.
