Merger of the KPD and SPD
The Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) merged to form the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) on 21 April 1946 in the territory of the Soviet occupation zone. It is considered a forced merger. In the course of the merger, about 5,000 Social Democrats who opposed it were detained and sent to labour camps and jails.
Pieck and Grotewohl shake hands during the unification ceremony | |
| Type | Unification treaty |
|---|---|
| Context | Merger of the KPD and SPD into the Socialist Unity Party of Germany |
| Signed | 21 April 1946 |
| Location | Admiralspalast, Berlin, Soviet occupation zone |
| Mediators | Soviet Union |
| Signatories |
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| Parties | |
| Languages | German |
Although nominally a merger of equals, the merged party quickly fell under Communist domination. The SED became the ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in 1949; by then, it had become a full-fledged communist party – for all intents and purposes, the KPD under a new name. It developed along lines similar to other Communist Parties in what became the Soviet Bloc. The SED would be the only ruling party of the GDR until its dissolution after the Peaceful Revolution in December 1989.