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The Soviet Occupation Zone (; , Sovetskaya zona Germanii, "Soviet Zone of Germany") was the area of eastern Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 occupied by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
 from 1945 on, at the end of World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
. On 7 October 1949, the Soviet occupation zone became the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).

Significant areas of what would become the Soviet zone of Germany were not handed over to the Soviets until a few months after the end of hostilities, having first been occupied by American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 forces.The Americans withdrew from the line of contact
Line of contact

The Line of Contact marked the farthest advance of American, British and Soviet Armies into Germany at the end of World War II. This contact began with the first meeting between Soviet and American forces at Torgau, near the Elbe river on Elbe Day, April 25, 1945....
 in July 1945 to the previously agreed upon occupation zone boundaries.

The SBZ was one of the four Allied occupation zones of Germany
Allied Occupation Zones in Germany

The Allies of World War II powers who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II divided the country west of the Oder-Neisse line into four occupation zones for administrative purposes during the period 1945?1949....
 created at the end of World War II.






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The Soviet Occupation Zone (; , Sovetskaya zona Germanii, "Soviet Zone of Germany") was the area of eastern Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 occupied by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
 from 1945 on, at the end of World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
. On 7 October 1949, the Soviet occupation zone became the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).

Significant areas of what would become the Soviet zone of Germany were not handed over to the Soviets until a few months after the end of hostilities, having first been occupied by American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 forces.The Americans withdrew from the line of contact
Line of contact

The Line of Contact marked the farthest advance of American, British and Soviet Armies into Germany at the end of World War II. This contact began with the first meeting between Soviet and American forces at Torgau, near the Elbe river on Elbe Day, April 25, 1945....
 in July 1945 to the previously agreed upon occupation zone boundaries.

The SBZ was one of the four Allied occupation zones of Germany
Allied Occupation Zones in Germany

The Allies of World War II powers who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II divided the country west of the Oder-Neisse line into four occupation zones for administrative purposes during the period 1945?1949....
 created at the end of World War II. According to the Potsdam Agreement
Potsdam Agreement

The Potsdam Agreement was an agreement on policy for the occupation and reconstruction of Germany and other nations after fighting in the European Theatre of World War II had ended with the German surrender of May 8, 1945....
, the Soviet Military Administration in Germany
Soviet Military Administration in Germany

The Soviet Military Administration in Germany was the Soviet Union military government, headquartered in Berlin-Karlshorst, that directly ruled the Soviet occupation zone of Germany from the German surrender in May 1945 until after the establishment of the East Germany in October 1949....
 (German initials: SMAD) was assigned responsibility for the (present-day) eastern portion of Germany. Shortly thereafter, the SMAD allowed four political parties to develop, though they were all required to work together under an alliance known as the "Democratic Bloc" (later the National Front
National Front (East Germany)

The National Front of the German Democratic Republic was an alliance of political party and mass organisations in East Germany. The NF was controlled by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany and was formed to stand in elections to the East German parliament, the Volkskammer ....
). In April 1946, the Social Democratic Party of Germany
Social Democratic Party of Germany

The Social Democratic Party of Germany is Germany's oldest political party. After World War II, under the leadership of Kurt Schumacher, the SPD reestablished itself as an ideological party, representing the interests of the working class and the trade unions....
 (SPD) and the Communist Party of Germany
Communist Party of Germany

The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period....
 (KPD) merged together to form the Socialist Unity Party
Socialist Unity Party of Germany

The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990....
 (which later became the governing party of East Germany).

Originally, Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1922 until his death in 1953....
 wanted to bring all of Germany under Soviet influence, but when the West resisted this idea, he then sought to create a united Germany which would be non-aligned. When the West again resisted these efforts, Stalin decided to focus his efforts on the Soviet occupation zone.

In 1945, the Soviet occupation zone consisted primarily of the central portions of Prussia
Prussia

Prussia was, most recently, a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. This state had for centuries substantial influence on Germany and European history....
. After Prussia was dissolved by the Allied powers in 1947, the area was divided between the German states (Länder) of Brandenburg
Brandenburg

Brandenburg is one of the sixteen states of Germany of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany....
, Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg

Mecklenburg is a region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, and Neubrandenburg....
, Saxony
Saxony

The Free State of Saxony is a States of Germany of Germany. Located in the southeastern part of present-day Germany. It is the tenth-largest German state in area and the sixth largest in population , of Germany's sixteen states....
, Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt

Saxony-Anhalt is one of the sixteen States of Germany that make up the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of , and a population of 2.45 million ....
 und Thuringia
Thuringia

The Free State of Thuringia is located in central Germany. It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen States of Germany ....
. On 7 October 1949, the Soviet zone became the German Democratic Republic, usually referred to in English as East Germany. In 1952, the Länder were dissolved and realigned into 14 districts (Bezirke), plus the district of East Berlin
East Berlin

East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet Union Allied Occupation Zones in Germany of Berlin that was established in 1945....
.

See also

  • History of East Germany
  • Bizone
    Bizone

    The Bizone, or Bizonia, was the combination of the United States and the United Kingdom occupation Allied Occupation Zones in Germany during the occupation of Germany after World War II....
  • Trizone
  • Group of Soviet Forces in Germany
    Group of Soviet Forces in Germany

    The Group of Soviet Forces in Germany , also known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany and the Western Group of Forces were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany....
  • Stunde Null
    Stunde Null

    Stunde Null is the German language equivalent of "Wiktionary:zero hour", a military planning term indicating the beginning of some operation or event....