Administrative division of the German Democratic Republic

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Subdivisions of the German Democratic Republic

Following the redrawing of Germany's national boundaries after 1945, there were five states or Länder in the Soviet controlled eastern zone:

• Brandenburg,
• Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern),
• Saxony (Sachsen),
• Saxony-Anhalt (Sachsen-Anhalt), and
• Thuringia (Thüringen),

which, together with East Berlin formed the German Democratic Republic in 1949.

In 1952, the Länder of East Germany were abolished, and the GDR was divided into Bezirke (districts), each named after the largest city:

• Cottbus;
• Dresden;
• Erfurt;
• Frankfurt (Oder);
• Gera;
• Halle;
• Karl-Marx-Stadt (since 1990, Chemnitz);
• Leipzig;
• Magdeburg;
• Neubrandenburg;
• Potsdam;
• Rostock;
• Schwerin; and
• Suhl.

East Berlin was claimed as the capital city, not a Bezirk, and was described either as Berlin or Berlin, Hauptstadt der DDR ("Berlin, Capital of the GDR"). (West Berlin was known as Westberlin until the final years of the GDR, when Berlin (West), the term used in West Germany, began also to be used.)

In 1990, the Länder were reinstated and acceded to the Federal Republic of Germany. Each Land was divided into districts or Kreise as in West Germany, and the Bezirke were abolished.