DDR
7 October 1949
['1 january 1992', '24 april 1990', '6 june 1864', '26 october 1952', '12 february 1945', '26 january 2010', '1 october 1958', '11 may 2008', '1 december 2001', '29 march 2009', '1 january 2015', '21 march 1946', '22 july 2008', '3 march 2012', '13 september 1979', '1 january 2001', '22 october 1964', '11 august 1947', '1 february 2007', '1 september 2004', '1 april 1974', '1 january 1940', '12 june 1962', '1 january 1969', '31 may 1982', '1 january 1804', '1 january 1901', '12 july 2007', '1 january 1942', '2 march 1919', '1 july 1968', '16 april 1912', '1 november 2011', '1 july 1867', '27 september 1967', '2 april 2012', '30 november 2009', '1 january 1968', '14 february 1956', '28 december 2004', '1 may 1775', '28 december 1934', '24 january 1857', '9 may 1974', '31 july 1948', '19 october 1979', '30 september 1981', '1 october 1949', '12 august 1993', '11 november 2009', '11 october 1974', '6 december 1922', '19 january 2011', '14 may 2005', '21 april 1970', '28 september 1893', '15 november 1955', '2 november 1982', '20 july 1924', '25 september 2010', '16 august 1936', '31 march 1924', '14 october 1924', '1 january 1984', '16 december 1989', '19 july 1963', '24 september 1946', '16 november 2009', '29 march 2011', '30 april 2004', '25 august 1952', '14 april 1943', '25 december 1991', '1 january 2005', '15 november 1953', '7 april 1948', '18 march 1932', '30 may 1975', '22 october 2009', '21 march 1944', '15 july 1971', '20 may 1936', '1 january 1986', '1 july 1903', '2 september 1990', '1 january 2007', '1 january 1995', '29 april 1918', '28 november 1912', '1 september 1926', '1 january 2004', '6 november 1967', '6 june 1844', '2 december 1995', '25 september 2012', '10 november 2012', '1 january 1921', '28 october 2006', '26 january 1950']
Politics of East Germany
The German Democratic Republic (GDR; German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, or DDR, commonly known in English as East Germany) was created as a socialist republic on 7 October 1949 and began to institute a government based on that of the Soviet Union. The equivalent of the Communist Party in East Germany was the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (Socialist Unity Party of Germany, SED), which along with other parties, was part of the National Front of Democratic Germany. It was created in 1946 through the merger of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) in the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany. Following German reunification, the SED was renamed the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS). The other political parties ran under the joint slate of the National Front, controlled by the SED, for elections to the Volkskammer, the East German parliament. The other parties were: Elections were held but were effectively controlled by the SED and state hierarchy, as noted by Hans Modrow and others. The Volkskammer also included representatives from the mass organisations like the Free German Youth (Freie Deutsche Jugend or FDJ), or the Free German Trade Union Federation. In an attempt to include women in the political life in East Germany, there was even a Democratic Women's Federation of Germany with seats in the Volkskammer. Non-parliamentary mass organizations which nevertheless played a key role in East German society included the German Gymnastics and Sports Association (Deutscher Turn- und Sportbund or DTSB) and People's Solidarity (Volkssolidarität, an organisation for the elderly). Another society of note (and very popular during the late 1980s) was the Society for German-Soviet Friendship. On 18 March 1990, the only free elections in the history of the GDR were held, producing a government whose major mandate was to negotiate an end to itself and its state.