This Day in History: East Germany Proclaimed in 1949
On 7 October 1949, the establishment of the German Democratic Republic was proclaimed in the German occupation zone held by Stalin's regime. It came in response to the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany.
A historical look back at 7 October 1949 recalls an event that marked the division of Germany into two states: on that day, the founding of the German Democratic Republic was proclaimed.
A response to the creation of West Germany
The German Democratic Republic was created in reaction to the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany in May 1949. Stalin's regime carried out a "parallel" German statehood project in its own occupation zone in Germany.
As a result, a few months after the Federal Republic of Germany was founded, a second German state appeared alongside it, created in the zone controlled by Stalin's regime.
