Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands
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Socialist Unity Party of Germany
Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands |
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| Founded | 21 April 1946 |
| Dissolved | 16 December 1989 |
| Merger of | East German branch of KPD and East German branch of SPD |
| Succeeded by | PDS |
| Newspaper | Neues Deutschland |
| Youth wing | Freie Deutsche Jugend |
| Membership (1989) | 2,260,979 |
| Ideology |
Communism Socialism Marxism–Leninism |
| International affiliation | Cominform |
| Colours | Red |
| Anthem | "Lied der Partei" |
| Party flag | |
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The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (German: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, SED), often known in English as the East German Communist Party, established in April 1946, was the governing Marxist–Leninist political party of the German Democratic Republic from the country's foundation in October 1949 until it was dissolved after the Peaceful Revolution in 1989.
The GDR was a one-party state but other institutional popular front parties were permitted to exist in alliance with the SED, these parties being the Christian Democratic Union, the Liberal Democratic Party, the Democratic Farmers' Party, and the National Democratic Party. In the 1980s, the SED rejected the liberalisation policies of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, such as perestroika and glasnost, which would lead to the GDR's isolation from the restructuring USSR and the party's downfall in the autumn of 1989.
The party's dominant figure from 1950 to 1971, and effective leader of East Germany, was Walter Ulbricht. In 1953, an uprising against the Party was met with violent suppression by the Ministry of State Security and the Soviet Army. In 1971, Ulbricht was succeeded by Erich Honecker who presided over a stable period in the development of the GDR until he was forced to step down during the 1989 revolution. The party's last leader, Egon Krenz, was unsuccessful in his attempt to retain the SED's hold on political governance of the GDR and was imprisoned after German reunification.
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