officially German Democratic Republic
Former republic (1945–90), north-central Europe.
It is now the eastern portion of the Federal Republic of Germany . In 1945 occupied Germany was divided into U.S., British, French, and Soviet zones. In 1949 the U.S., British, and French zones were combined as West Germany , while the Soviet zone became a communist state as East Germany. Declared a sovereign country in 1955, it became a founding member of the Warsaw Pact . The regimes of Erich Honecker were harshly repressive. The {{link=Berlin Wall">Berlin Wall was constructed at the border of the divided city of Berlin in 1961 to stem the flight of East German citizens to the West. The communist government was dismantled in 1989–90, and the country adopted the constitution and name of Germany when the states were united in October 1990.