East Germany: Difference between revisions
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|conventional_long_name = German Democratic Republic |
|conventional_long_name = German Democratic Republic |
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|common_name = East Germany |
|common_name = East Germany |
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|continent = |
|continent = Europe |
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|region = |
|region = [[Central Europe]] |
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|country = Germany |
|country = Germany |
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|status = Member of the [[Warsaw Pact]] (1955–1989) |
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|era = Cold War |
|era = Cold War |
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|status = Satellite State of the Soviet Union |
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|year_start = 1949 |
|year_start = 1949 |
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|year_end = 1990 |
|year_end = 1990 |
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|life_span = 1949–1990 |
|life_span = 1949–1990 |
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| |
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|event_start = [[Constitution of East Germany |
|event_start = [[Constitution of East Germany#1949 constitution|Constitution adopted]] |
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|date_start = 7 October |
|date_start = 7 October |
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|event_end = [[German reunification|Reunification]] |
|event_end = [[German reunification|Reunification]] |
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|event2 = [[Berlin Crisis of 1961|Berlin Crisis]] |
|event2 = [[Berlin Crisis of 1961|Berlin Crisis]] |
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|date_event2 = 4 June 1961 |
|date_event2 = 4 June 1961 |
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|event3 = [[ |
|event3 = Admitted to the [[United Nations]] |
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|date_event3 = |
|date_event3 = 18 September 1973 |
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|event4 = [[ |
|event4 = [[Peaceful Revolution]] |
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|date_event4 = |
|date_event4 = 13 October 1989 |
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|event5 = [[Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany|Final Settlement]] |
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|date_event5 = 12 September 1990 |
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|p1 = Allied-occupied Germany |
|p1 = Allied-occupied Germany |
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|p2 = Soviet occupation zone |
|p2 = Soviet occupation zone |
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|flag_p2 = Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union_(1923-1955).svg |
|flag_p2 = Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union_(1923-1955).svg |
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|s1 = Germany |
|s1 = New states of Germany |
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|flag_s1 = |
|flag_s1 = Schwarz Rot Gold.svg |
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|image_flag = |
|image_flag = Flag_of_East_Germany.svg |
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|flag = Flag of East Germany |
|flag = Flag of East Germany |
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|flag_type = Flag |
|flag_type = Flag |
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|image_coat = Coat_of_arms_of_East_Germany.svg |
|image_coat = Coat_of_arms_of_East_Germany.svg |
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|symbol_type = Emblem |
|symbol_type = National Emblem |
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|symbol = National Emblem of |
|symbol = National Emblem of East Germany |
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|image_map = East Germany 1956-1990.svg |
|image_map = East Germany 1956-1990.svg |
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|image_map_caption = The German Democratic Republic in 1990 |
|image_map_caption = The German Democratic Republic in 1990 |
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|national_anthem = ''[[Auferstanden aus Ruinen]]''<br/><small>"Risen from Ruins"</small>[[File:Auferstanden aus Ruinen.oga|center]] |
|national_anthem = ''[[Auferstanden aus Ruinen]]''<br/><small>"Risen from Ruins"</small>[[File:Auferstanden aus Ruinen.oga|center]] |
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|national_motto = Proletarier aller Länder, vereinigt Euch!<br>English: [[Workers of the world, unite!]] |
|national_motto = Proletarier aller Länder, vereinigt Euch!<br>English: [[Workers of the world, unite!]] |
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|capital = [[East Berlin]] |
|capital = [[East Berlin]] |
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|common_languages = [[German language|German]] |
|common_languages = [[German language|German]] |
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|latd=52 |latm=31 |latNS=N |longd=13 |longm=24 |longEW=E |
|latd=52 |latm=31 |latNS=N |longd=13 |longm=24 |longEW=E |
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|government_type = [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist–Leninist]] [[one-party state]] |
|government_type = [[Federal republic|Federal]] [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist–Leninist]] [[one-party state|one-party]] [[socialist state|socialist]] [[republic]] (1949-1952)<br>[[Unitary state|Unitary]] [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist–Leninist]] [[one-party state|one-party]] [[socialist state|socialist]] [[republic]] (1952-1989)<br>[[Unitary state|Unitary]] [[parliamentary republic]] (1989-1990) |
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|leader1 = [[Wilhelm Pieck]] |
|leader1 = [[Wilhelm Pieck]] <small>(first)</small> |
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|leader2 = [[ |
|leader2 = [[Egon Krenz]] <small>(last)</small> |
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|leader3 = [[Walter Ulbricht]] |
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|leader4 = [[Erich Honecker]] |
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|leader5 = [[Egon Krenz]] |
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|year_leader1 = 1949–1950 |
|year_leader1 = 1949–1950 |
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|year_leader2 = |
|year_leader2 = 1989 |
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|year_leader3 = 1950–1971 |
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|year_leader4 = 1971–1989 |
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|year_leader5 = 1989 |
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|title_leader = [[General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany|General Secretary]] |
|title_leader = [[General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany|General Secretary]] |
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|currency = <small>1949–1964:</small> [[East German mark|Deutsche Mark]]<br /><small>1964–1967:</small> [[East German mark|Mark der Deutschen Notenbank]],<br/><small>(1967–1990)</small><br />[[East German mark|Mark der DDR]] <br /><small>(Three different names for the same currency)</small><br/>[[Deutsche Mark]] <br/><small>(from 1 July 1990)</small> |
|currency = <small>1949–1964:</small> [[East German mark|Deutsche Mark]]<br /><small>1964–1967:</small> [[East German mark|Mark der Deutschen Notenbank]],<br/><small>(1967–1990)</small><br />[[East German mark|Mark der DDR]] <br /><small>(Three different names for the same currency)</small><br/>[[Deutsche Mark]] <br/><small>(from 1 July 1990)</small> |
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|cctld = [[. |
|cctld = [[.dd]]{{ref|c|c}} |
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|drives_on = right |
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|calling_code = 37 |
|calling_code = 37 |
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|today = {{flag|Germany}} |
|today = {{flag|Germany}} |
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|footnotes = The initial flag of East Germany adopted in 1948 was identical to that of [[West Germany]]. In 1959, the East German government issued a new version of the flag bearing the national emblem, serving to distinguish East from West.<hr/>{{note|a|a}} Dissolved by the ''Volkskammer'' on 8 December 1958.<hr/>{{note|b|b}} Population statistics according to [[Statistisches Bundesamt]].<ref>[https://www.destatis.de/DE/ZahlenFakten/Indikatoren/LangeReihen/Bevoelkerung/lrbev03.html Bevölkerungsstand]</ref><hr/>{{note|c|c}} Although [[. |
|footnotes = The initial flag of East Germany adopted in 1948 was identical to that of [[West Germany]]. In 1959, the East German government issued a new version of the flag bearing the national emblem, serving to distinguish East from West.<hr/>{{note|a|a}} Dissolved by the ''Volkskammer'' on 8 December 1958.<hr/>{{note|b|b}} Population statistics according to [[Statistisches Bundesamt]].<ref>[https://www.destatis.de/DE/ZahlenFakten/Indikatoren/LangeReihen/Bevoelkerung/lrbev03.html Bevölkerungsstand] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113231041/https://www.destatis.de/DE/ZahlenFakten/Indikatoren/LangeReihen/Bevoelkerung/lrbev03.html |date=13 November 2013 }}</ref><hr/>{{note|c|c}} Although [[.dd]] was reserved as corresponding [[ISO 3166|ISO code]] for East Germany, it was not entered to the root before the country was reunited with the west.<ref>[http://internet.robert-scheck.de/tld-dd/ Top-Level-Domain .DD] Information site about .dd in German language</ref> |
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|HDI=0.932 (1998) |
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}} |
}} |
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The '''German Democratic Republic''' ('''GDR''') ({{lang-de|Deutsche Demokratische Republik}} (''DDR'')), commonly called '''East Germany''' ({{lang-de|Ostdeutschland}}), was founded on [[October 7]],[[1949]], after [[World War II]]. It was formed from part of the [[Soviet occupation zone]] of Germany, including part of the city of [[Berlin]]. It is no longer a nation by itself since the two parts of Germany, East Germany and [[West Germany]], reunified in 1990. |
The '''German Democratic Republic''' ('''GDR''') ({{lang-de|Deutsche Demokratische Republik}} (''DDR'')), commonly called '''East Germany''' ({{lang-de|Ostdeutschland}}), was founded on [[October 7]],[[1949]], after [[World War II]]. It was formed from part of the [[Soviet occupation zone]] of Germany, including part of the city of [[Berlin]]. It is no longer a nation by itself since the two parts of Germany, East Germany and [[West Germany]], reunified in 1990. |
Revision as of 18:42, 13 December 2017
German Democratic Republic Deutsche Demokratische Republik | |||||||||||
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1949–1990 | |||||||||||
Motto: Proletarier aller Länder, vereinigt Euch! English: Workers of the world, unite! | |||||||||||
Anthem: Auferstanden aus Ruinen "Risen from Ruins" | |||||||||||
Status | Member of the Warsaw Pact (1955–1989) | ||||||||||
Capital | East Berlin | ||||||||||
Common languages | German | ||||||||||
Government | Federal Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist republic (1949-1952) Unitary Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist republic (1952-1989) Unitary parliamentary republic (1989-1990) | ||||||||||
General Secretary | |||||||||||
• 1949–1950 | Wilhelm Pieck (first) | ||||||||||
• 1989 | Egon Krenz (last) | ||||||||||
Head of State | |||||||||||
• 1949–1960 | Wilhelm Pieck (first) | ||||||||||
• 1990 | Sabine Berg.-Pohl (last) | ||||||||||
Head of Government | |||||||||||
• 1949–1964 | Otto Grotewohl (first) | ||||||||||
• 1990 | Lothar de Maizière (last) | ||||||||||
Legislature | Volkskammer | ||||||||||
• State Chamber | Länderkammera | ||||||||||
Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||||
7 October 1949 | |||||||||||
16 June 1953 | |||||||||||
4 June 1961 | |||||||||||
• Admitted to the United Nations | 18 September 1973 | ||||||||||
13 October 1989 | |||||||||||
12 September 1990 | |||||||||||
3 October 1990 | |||||||||||
Area | |||||||||||
1990 | 108,333 km2 (41,828 sq mi) | ||||||||||
Population | |||||||||||
• 1950 | 18388000b | ||||||||||
• 1970 | 17068000 | ||||||||||
• 1990 | 16111000 | ||||||||||
HDI | 0.932 (1998) Error: Invalid HDI value | ||||||||||
Currency | 1949–1964: Deutsche Mark 1964–1967: Mark der Deutschen Notenbank, (1967–1990) Mark der DDR (Three different names for the same currency) Deutsche Mark (from 1 July 1990) | ||||||||||
Driving side | right | ||||||||||
Calling code | 37 | ||||||||||
Internet TLD | .ddc | ||||||||||
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Today part of | Germany | ||||||||||
The initial flag of East Germany adopted in 1948 was identical to that of West Germany. In 1959, the East German government issued a new version of the flag bearing the national emblem, serving to distinguish East from West. ^a Dissolved by the Volkskammer on 8 December 1958. ^b Population statistics according to Statistisches Bundesamt.[1] ^c Although .dd was reserved as corresponding ISO code for East Germany, it was not entered to the root before the country was reunited with the west.[2] |
The German Democratic Republic (GDR) (German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR)), commonly called East Germany (German: Ostdeutschland), was founded on October 7,1949, after World War II. It was formed from part of the Soviet occupation zone of Germany, including part of the city of Berlin. It is no longer a nation by itself since the two parts of Germany, East Germany and West Germany, reunified in 1990.
The GDR was ruled by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED).
History
After World War II, the four Allied Occupation Zones in Germany were each controlled by a different country. The countries that controlled these parts of Germany were France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Then, the French, American, and British parts of Germany formed West Germany (the Bundesrepublik) and part of the Soviet section became East Germany.
Walter Ulbricht, the head of the SED, also had a lot of power. Pieck died in 1960, and Ulbricht became "Chairman of the State Council". Now he was really the head of state.
On 13 August 1961, the Berlin Wall was built. Many people were shot dead by East German soldiers when they tried to escape the GDR. The SED told the East German people that the wall's purpose was to keep 'Western Capitalists' out; when in fact it was to keep them (East Germans) inside.
After Mikhail Gorbachev had started glasnost and perestroika in the Soviet Union, many people in the GDR wanted reforms, too. In 1989, there were lots of demonstrations against the SED and for democracy and human rights. In the city of Leipzig, people met every Monday and demonstrated, and so these demonstrations are called Montagsdemonstrationen ("Monday Demonstrations"). Erich Honecker wished that the Soviets would use its army to suppress these demonstrations. The Soviet Union, with its own political and economical problems, refused and did not want to control Eastern Europe anymore. Honecker was eventually forced to resign on October 18, 1989.
Egon Krenz was elected by the politburo to be Honecker's successor. Krenz tried to show that he was looking for change within the GDR but the citizens did not trust him. On November 9, 1989, the SED announced that East Germans would be able to travel to West Berlin the next day. The spokesman who announced the new travel law incorrectly said that it would take effect immediately, implying the Berlin Wall would open that night. People began to gather at border checkpoints at the wall hoping to be let through, but the guards told them that they had no orders to let citizens through. As the number of people grew, the guards became alarmed and tried to contact their superiors but had no responses. Unwilling to use force, the chief guard at the checkpoint relented at 10:54pm and ordered the gate to be opened. Thousands of East-Germans swarmed into West Berlin and the purpose of the wall was deemed now obsolete. The fall of the wall destroyed the SED politically as well as the career of its leader, Egon Krenz. On December 1, 1989, the GDR government revoked the law that guaranteed the SED the right to rule the East German political system, effectively ending communist rule in the GDR.
On 18 March 1990, there were free elections in the GDR. The "Alliance for Germany", a group of political parties who wanted to unify the GDR with West Germany, won that election. This process, when East Germany became a democracy, is known also the Wende in Germany.
In the German reunification, the GDR joined West Germany by approving its constitution in 1990. The East German districts were reorganised into the Länder (Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt and Thüringen) and joined West Germany, after which the GDR ceased to exist.
Even though the western and the eastern part joined back together in 1990, people from former West Germany still call people from East Germany "Ossi". This comes from the German word "Osten" which means "East". Ossi is not always meant kindly.
Politics
The leading role of the SED was written down in the constitution of the GDR. There were other parties in the GDR, which were called the Blockparteien ("block parties"), but their job was mostly to do what the SED said:
- CDU (Christlich-Demokratische Union Deutschlands; in English "Christian Democratic Union of Germany") – when Germany was reunified in 1990, this party merged with the West German party of the same name, CDU.
- LDPD (Liberal-Demokratische Partei Deutschlands; in English "Liberal Democratic Party of Germany") – in 1990, it was merged with the West German FDP
- NDPD (National-Demokratische Partei Deutschlands; in English "National Democratic Party of Germany") – it was merged with the FDP, too, and has nothing to do with the NPD
- DBD (Demokratische Bauernpartei Deutschland; in English "Democratic Farmer's Party of Germany") – it was merged with the CDU some months before the German reunification
The Ministry for State Security (in German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit; often called "MfS" or "Stasi") was the East German homeland security service. It searched for people who were against the state, the SED and their politics. The MfS had many informants who told them when some people said or did something against the state. There was a big MfS prison in the town of Bautzen.
Foreign policy
East Germany was a member of the Warsaw Pact. In retrospect, the GDR was a puppet state of the Soviet Union until democratic reforms. The GDR was released from Soviet control by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev during his reforms in the late 1980s in what was known as the "Sinatra Doctrine".
Economy
In the GDR, there was a planned economy. All big factories and companies were in property of the state (officially Volkseigentum, "people's property"). Only some small companies and shops were private property.
A famous relic of the GDR is the low-powered automobile "Trabant" or Trabi.
Sports
Until 1964, East and West Germany took part in the Olympic Games with only one team for both states. Since 1968, East and West Germany had their own team each.
East German sportspeople were very successful, for example in athletics, cycling, boxing or some winter sports. Famous sportspeople from East Germany were Täve Schur (cycling), Waldemar Cierpinski (athletics), Heike Drechsler (athletics), Olaf Ludwig (cycling), Katarina Witt (ice skating) or Jens Weißflog (ski jumping).
A famous cycling race was the Peace Race (in German: Friedensfahrt).
The East German national football team was not so successful. They were only in one FIFA World Cup. This was the 1974 FIFA World Cup, which took place in West Germany. On 22 June 1974, East Germany played against West Germany. Jürgen Sparwasser shot a goal and East Germany won 1-0.
- Athletes
- Uwe Ampler, racing bicyclist
- Karin Büttner-Janz, gymnast
- Ernst Degner, racing motorcyclist
- Thomas Doll, footballer
- Heike Drechsler, athlete
- Mikhail Grabovski, hockey player
- Marita Koch, athlete
- Olaf Ludwig, racing bicyclist
- Uwe Raab, racing bicyclist
- Jürgen Sparwasser, footballer
- Jens Weissflog, skier
- Katarina Witt, ice skater
Holidays
Date | English Name | German Name | Remarks |
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1 January | New Year's Day | Neujahr | |
Moveable feast | Good Friday | Karfreitag | |
Moveable feast | Easter Sunday | Ostersonntag | |
Moveable feast | Easter Monday | Ostermontag | Was not an official Holiday after 1967. |
1 May | May Day | Tag der Arbeit | International Workers' Day |
8 May | Victory in Europe Day | Tag der Befreiung | The translation means "Day of Liberation" |
Moveable feast | Father's Day / Ascension Day | Vatertag / Christi Himmelfahrt | Thursday after the 5th Sunday after Easter. Was not an official Holiday after 1967. |
Moveable feast | Whitmonday | Pfingstmontag | 50 days after Easter Sunday |
7 October | Republic Day | Tag der Republik | National holiday |
25 December | First Day of Christmas | 1. Weihnachtsfeiertag | |
26 December | Second Day of Christmas | 2. Weihnachtsfeiertag |
References
- ↑ Bevölkerungsstand Archived 13 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Top-Level-Domain .DD Information site about .dd in German language