Description

The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from the country’s establishment in 1949 until the political changes of 1989. Formed in 1946 through a unification of the East German branches of the Communist Party of Germany and the Social Democratic Party of Germany, the SED aimed to consolidate progressive working-class politics under a common platform of Marxist–Leninist ideals. The SED played a central role in the building of East Germany’s socialist institutions, economy and governance, steering the country’s development in line with a planned economy and collective social welfare.