Test yourself
The official question catalogue has 16 questions on this topic. In the app you practise them with instant feedback and in the exam simulation.
Founding in 1949
The GDR came into being in 1949 in the Soviet occupation zone. The state lasted until German unity on 3 October 1990.
In the same year the Federal Republic of Germany came into being in the West. Germany was thus divided into two states. With the opening of the Wall in 1989, the end of the GDR began.
The SED, the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, determined politics. Other parties had no real power.
Planned economy and Stasi
The GDR's economic system was a planned economy. The state planned and controlled production, distribution and prices. In a market economy, supply and demand determine the economy. That was not the case in the GDR.
“Stasi” was the short form for the Ministry for State Security. The Stasi was the secret service of the GDR. It monitored the population and political resistance and was a central instrument of rule. Many people lived in fear of being watched.
The planned economy set its targets from above. Enterprises and consumers followed the state plans.
The building of the Berlin Wall
On 13 August 1961 the GDR began building the Berlin Wall. First it had roads and rail links blocked and the border sealed off with barbed wire. This grew into a fortified wall with border fences and watchtowers. The main aim was to stop people fleeing to the West via Berlin.
From 1961 to 1989 the Wall separated East and West Berlin. For people from the GDR the border was hardly passable during this time. On 9 November 1989 the border opened.
Cold War and Warsaw Pact
After 1945 two power blocs faced each other. In the West were the Federal Republic and its partners, in the East the Soviet Union and its allies. This conflict is called the Cold War.
The GDR belonged to the Eastern Bloc. Its military alliance was the Warsaw Pact, founded in 1955. The GDR was one of its founding members. The Federal Republic belonged to NATO.
The term “Iron Curtain” stands for the sealing off of the Warsaw Pact states from the West. It became well known through a speech by the British politician Winston Churchill in 1946.
The uprising of 17 June 1953
On 17 June 1953, strikes and protests began in East Berlin and in many places across the GDR. They grew into a popular uprising. Soviet troops and GDR security forces crushed it. The SED regime responded with violence.
In the Federal Republic, 17 June was a public holiday until 1990. It was called “Day of German Unity” and commemorated the uprising.
The uprising showed how dissatisfied many people in the GDR were.
Flag and coat of arms
The GDR had a black, red and gold state flag. On it were a hammer and a compass inside a wreath of ears of grain, the state coat of arms of the GDR.
The federal flag has the same colours but no coat of arms. A hammer and compass in a wreath of ears of grain can therefore be recognised as a symbol of the GDR.
These 16 questions are in the test
- 151Wer baute die Mauer in Berlin?
- 185Wofür stand der Ausdruck „Eiserner Vorhang“? Für die Abschottung …
- 186Im Jahr 1953 gab es in der DDR einen Aufstand, an den lange Zeit in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland ein Feiertag erinnerte. Wann war das?
- 187Welcher deutsche Staat hatte eine schwarz-rot-goldene Flagge mit Hammer, Zirkel und Ährenkranz?
- 188In welchem Jahr wurde die Mauer in Berlin gebaut?
- 189Wann baute die DDR die Mauer in Berlin?
- 190Was bedeutet die Abkürzung DDR?
- 193Von 1961 bis 1989 war Berlin …
- 199Mit der Abkürzung „Stasi“ meinte man in der DDR …
- 202Zu wem gehörte die DDR im „Kalten Krieg“?
- 203Wie hieß das Wirtschaftssystem der DDR?
- 207In welchem Militärbündnis war die DDR Mitglied?
- 208Was war die „Stasi“?
- 209Welches war das Wappen der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik?
- 210Was ereignete sich am 17. Juni 1953 in der DDR?
- 217In welchem Zeitraum gab es die Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR)?
Each question with its explanation is on the question pages. You can practise with answers in the app.
SourcesBundeszentrale für politische Bildung: Die Etappen der Entwicklung von 1945 bis 1990Bundesregierung: 64. Jahrestag des MauerbausBundesregierung: Die Mauer ist offenBundeszentrale für politische Bildung: Aufbau eines sozialistischen StaatesBundesarchiv: Was war die Stasi?
Read next
- The Peaceful Revolution, the fall of the Wall and reunification in 1990Peaceful Revolution, fall of the Wall, five new states joining on 3 October 1990: the Wende explained simply, with questions from the naturalisation test.
- Germany and Its Neighbouring CountriesGermany's nine neighbours, its population and the German-speaking population of Austria: explained simply, with questions from the naturalisation test.
- Germany in the European UnionThe EU explained simply: founding, flag, European elections and Parliament, Schengen and the euro, with questions from the naturalisation test.