History UsefulNotes / EastGermany

The leaders of the freshly founded GDR were Walter Ulbricht ("the guy with the Lenin beard"), Wilhelm Pieck ("the guy with the potbelly") and Otto Grotewohl ("the guy with the glasses" - not [[Creator/DougWalker this one]], obviously). As early as 1953, shortly after UsefulNotes/JosefStalin's death, the state had its first big crisis when workers rose against the government on June 17th. It didn't end too well. Even Communist author Creator/BertoltBrecht criticized the government in his poem ''The Solution'': "Would it not be be simpler then for the government, To dissolve the people and elect another?"

The ''Deutsche Demokratische Republik'' (German Democratic Republic) was what was created in 1949 when the Soviet zone of occupied Germany post-UsefulNotes/WorldWarII became its own country. Accordingly, it was CommieLand.

* The manga ''Anime/{{Monster}}'' is set in post-unification Germany and revolves heavily around covered up events in the former GDR.

* Light Novel, Visual Novel and Anime ''LightNovel/{{Schwarzesmarken}}'', focuses on a group of East German mecha pilots fighting against an alien BETA invasion that has overrun much of Eurasia and the rest of Warsaw Pact states. In the works are antagonistic Stasi and [[spoiler: a plot to overthrow]] East Germany's government to reunify it with the West. [[spoiler: In all adaptations and endings, the plot fails in the long run and the East German government is still around in the 21st century as a government in exile.]]

East Germany's most famous consumer products were the Exacta and Praktica cameras (the Praktica brand still exists; it was part of the Kombinat Volks Eigener Betrieb Zeiss Jena (how's that for a company name, eh?) that ''invented'' the prism SLR design which is still the standard for cameras today - one of the few communist inventions to have an impact in the west), MZ motorcycles (whose engine technology gave Suzuki quite a boost in the early '60's after one of MZ's factory riders defected to join Suzuki) and the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant Trabant]] [[TheAllegedCar car, which was, by Western standards, obsolete before the '60s were over]] but gave many a Worker and his family the opportunity to move themselves about a bit, trailing a blue two-stroke smoke cloud. It pretty much disappeared from the East German streets as soon as the Wall opening brought other choices, but it's now considered a [[TheAllegedCar classic car]]. Some drivers have succeeded in making their Trabants capable of passing the [=MoT=], Britain's strict government-mandated roadworthiness test; divine intervention is suspected. However the Trabant, suitably renovated, is making a bit of a comeback today among enthusiasts, who rebuild them into customized hotrods or simply restore them to better-than-new conditions. Probably the most visible East German product on modern store shelves is Vita Cola, the ''de facto'' official soft drink of the DDR. While it went insolvent like most East German companies following reunification, the lingering memory of it proved viable enough that it was revived in 1994, and today it is sold on store shelves across Germany, particularly in the former East. It rivals the Hamburg-based Fritz Cola as being Germany's most popular indiginous soft drink. It is known for its strong lemon and citrus flavor.

* ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Sandmannchen}} Sandmännchen]]''

East Germany's most famous consumer products were the Exacta and Praktica cameras (the Praktica brand still exists; it was part of the Kombinat Volks Eigener Betrieb Zeiss Jena (how's that for a company name, eh?) that ''invented'' the prism SLR design which is still the standard for cameras today - one of the few communist inventions to have an impact in the west), MZ motorcycles (whose engine technology gave Suzuki quite a boost in the early '60's after one of MZ's factory riders defected to join Suzuki) and the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant Trabant]] [[TheAllegedCar car, which was, by Western standards, obsolete before the '60s were over]] but gave many a Worker and his family the opportunity to move themselves about a bit, trailing a blue two-stroke smoke cloud. It pretty much disappeared from the East German streets as soon as the Wall opening brought other choices, but it's now considered a [[TheAllegedCar classic car]]. Some drivers have succeeded in making their Trabants capable of passing the [=MoT=], Britain's strict government-mandated roadworthiness test; divine intervention is suspected. However the Trabant, suitably renovated, is making a bit of a comeback today among enthusiasts, who rebuild them into customized hotrods or simply restore them to better-than-new conditions.

* [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/features/polyplay.shtml The video game ''Poly Play'']] was the only video game officially created in East Germany. Strictly speaking, it's a collection of eight different arcade games, including a ''VideoGame/PacMan'' clone. It is low resolution, uses a complete TV set as a screen, and is emulated in MAME, the ROM allegedly being freely available (which is probably not true, since ''someone'' must have inherited the East German copyrights - but apparently, no one can tell). It has [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poly_Play an article]] on Wiki/{{Wikipedia}}.

* ''Der schwarze Kanal'' ("The Black Channel"- derived from a German plumbing term for sewer): Think of a Communist {{MST}}ing of West German television news, only without the humour. Or the popularity.[[note]]One urban myth even going so far as to claim power station enginers struggled to prevent blackouts ensuing from viewers turning their sets off when it was broadcast![[/note]] (May fall under SoBadItsGood, though.) Or, basically, you'd have clips of West German news programmes and presenter Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler[[note]]nicknamed "Sudel-Ede", or "Botch Eddie" for his vitriolic style, according to Wiki/{{Wikipedia}}[[/note]] providing pro-regime, anti-Western commentary on those clips in an attempt to undermine beliefs that Western news was more accurate than the Eastern offering...

Most of East Germany could pick up West German TV networks, which helped undermine the regime. The channels couldn't be jammed since it would also jam West Germany and that would be bad diplomatically. The Dresden and Rügen areas couldn't, so were dubbed "The Valley of the Clueless". This was done a) because GDR television was full of propaganda and b) it appears not to have been that good. The only programmes that Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} discusses in its English version are:

* Several details of the lore of ''VideoGame/GirlsFrontline'' suggest Germany either didn't reunify in 1990 or broke up again at an unknown point. Two of the characters are Stasi agents and the T-Doll roster has an East German representative in form of [[RareGuns StG-940]].

* ''[[{{Sandmannchen}} Sandmännchen]]''

Since approximately [[TheGreatPoliticsMessUp 1990]] "Ossi" is the German slang term for a former East German, "Wessi" being the UsefulNotes/WestGermany counterpart. Until then, "Zoni"[[note]]from "Sowjetische Besatzungszone" (Soviet Occupation Zone)[[/note]] was used for people from the GDR, "Wessi" was used by the people in West Berlin for those from West Germany and "Ossi" was used in jokes about people from East Frisia.

On the other hand, the East German rail network retained the pre-1945 name of Deutsche Reichsbahn ("German Imperial Railways"), while the West Germans renamed theirs [[UsefulNotes/DeutscheBahn Deutsche Bundesbahn]] ("German Federal Railways"). This may have been done since several treaties dating to the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII mentioned special privileges--particularly relating to trackage rights in West Berlin, including the right to run the [[UsefulNotes/BerlinUAndSBahn S-Bahn]] there--given by name to ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'' that might not have transferred automatically to ''VEB Bahn der DDR'' or some such, so it was best not to risk it. In 1994 the two were unified to form the new "Deutsche Bahn AG", though the name "Bundesbahn" somehow still sticks around in the minds of many West-Germans. The GDR-Reichsbahn is famous among many a RailEnthusiast because [[SteamNeverDies steam died very late]] in the GDR. Until well into the 1980s, steam was employed on main lines which was mostly due to the lack of electrification (all pre-war electrification was taken to the Soviet Union as war reparation) and the fact that the GDR had lignite in abundance but hardly any oil deposits. Steam's main downsides (inefficiency and need for a lot of human labor) were of no major concern to the GDR authorities, as they ''wanted'' everybody to have a job (and only got it done by having a lot of people work less than full jobs, but paying them as if they were) and lignite was cheap and plentiful. As to speed, the horrible condition of most tracks allowed no more than 120 km/h on most lines, which was well within reach of pre-war era steam locomotives anyway.

->[[TheStinger Auferstanden aus Ruinen]]

----

* The Anime/LupinIIIRedJacket episode "To Be Or Nazi Be" depicted an airborne escape over the BerlinWall.

The ''Deutsche Demokratische Republik'' (German Democratic Republic) was what was created in 1949 when the Soviet zone of occupied Germany became its own country. Accordingly, it was CommieLand.

* A couple of ''Series/MacGyver'' episodes.

* In ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'', it's strongly implied that Prussia takes up the East Germany role after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. There is still much internet drama about this, as other parts of the fandom believe Prussia is actually [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaliningrad Kaliningrad.]] Some clues that support the "Prussia = East Germany" connections are:

* One mission in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsColdWar'' has the CIA infiltrating East Berlin in order to kill/capture a Russian arms dealer with connections to Soviet spy Perseus, with GDR People's Police and and Stasi agents serves as minor opposition forces. In Multiplayer, one of the characters from the Warsaw Pact faction is also a member of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diensteinheit_IX Diensteinheit IX]], an East German counter-terrorism unit established as a direct counterpart to West German's GSG 9.

* One mission in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsColdWar'' has the CIA infiltrating East Berlin to kill/capture a Russian arms dealer with connections to Soviet spy Perseus, with GDR People's Police and and Stasi agents serves as minor opposition forces. In Multiplayer, one of the characters from the Warsaw Pact side is also a member of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diensteinheit_IX Diensteinheit IX]], an East German counter-terrorism unit established as a direct counterpart to West German's GSG 9.

The leaders of the freshly founded GDR were Walter Ulbricht ("the guy with the Lenin beard"), Wilhelm Pieck ("the guy with the potbelly") and Otto Grotewohl ("the guy with the glasses" - not [[Creator/DougWalker this one]], obviously). As early as 1953, shortly after UsefulNotes/JosefStalin's death, the state had its first big crisis when workers rose against the government on June 17th. It didn't end too well. Even Communist author Creator/BertoltBrecht criticized the government in his poem ''The Situation'': "Would it not be be simpler then for the government, To dissolve the people and elect another?"

* One mission in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsColdWar'' has the CIA infiltrating East Berlin to kill/capture a Russian arms dealer with connections to Soviet spy Perseus, with GDR People's Police and and Stasi agents serves as minor opposition forces. In Multiplayer, one of the characters from the Warsaw Pact side is also a member of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diensteinheit_IX Dienstenheit IX]], an East German counter-terrorism unit established as a direct counterpart to West German's GSG 9.

* In the Light Novel, Visual Novel and Anime ''LightNovel/{{Schwarzesmarken}}'', focuses on a group of mecha pilots fighting against an alien BETA invasion that has overrun much of Eurasia. In the works are antagonistic Stasi and [[spoiler: a plot to overthrow]] East Germany's government to reunify it with the west. [[spoiler: In all adaptations and endings, the plot fails in the long run and East Germany is still around in the 21st century.]]

* One mission in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsColdWar'' has the CIA infiltrating East Berlin to kill/capture a Russian arms dealer with connections to Soviet spy Perseus, with GDR People's Police and and Stasi agents serves as minor opposition forces.