The Country

Geography:
Between 1949 and 1990, Germany was formally partitioned into two nations: East Germany and West Germany. Aviation in West Germany is covered on the main Germany page.

East Germany was located in the northern part of Western Europe. It was bordered by West Germany to the west, the Baltic Sea to the north, Poland to the east and Czechoslovakia to the south. Before 1990 it was easily the most prosperous and highly developed of the nations of Eastern Europe.

The country was made up of two main areas - the North European Lowlands and the Central German Highlands. Forming the majority of the country, the Lowlands include the coastal plain, a range of low rolling hills and lakes, and a band of very fertile across the centre of the country. The Highlands in the south comprise the Erzgebirge mountains which partly define the Czechoslovak frontier, the Thüringer Wald (Thuringian Forest) - a range of tree-covered ancient eroded mountains running northwest to southeast along the Bavarian border (with West Germany) and the Harz mountains further to the north, which also formed part of the border with West Germany. The total land area was 108,178 sq km (41,768 sq miles).

The Population of 16.1 million (1990 figure) was 99.8% German, 0.2% Sorbs. 64% of the population was Atheist/Agnostic, 30% Protestant and 6% Roman Catholic. The capital city was (East) Berlin.

National History:

Summary Narrative History

Timeline - Key Dates in East German History

Further National Information:
wikipedia: East Germany
wikipedia: History of East Germany

Civil Aircraft Registrations:
East German civil aircraft were registered in the series DDR-xxxx onwards from 1952 until 1956. In 1956, registrations switched to the DM-xxx letter sequence. In 1981 registrations switched back to the DDR-xxx sequence, and the prefix was retained until unification in 1990.

Military Air Arms:
Historical military air arms-
Air Force (Luftstreitkräfte)
Naval Aviation (Volksmarine)
Army Aviation (Fliegerkräfte der Landstreitkrafte der NVA)
Soviet Air Force in East Germany

Central Government Agencies:
Border Guards (Grenztruppen)

Public Service Aviation:
Medical Aviation
National Police (Volkspolizei)

Commercial Aviation:
Deutsche Lufthansa der DDR [1955-1963]
DDR-Agrarflug [1960-1990]
Interflug [1963-1991]
Additional Interflug websites:
airliners.net DDR-Interflug Fly Interflug Interflieger Interflug.biz

The World's Airlines: East Germany

Private Aviation:
To be added

Aircraft Manufacturers:
VEB, Dresden

Airports, Airfields and Air Bases:
Airports in Germany

Military Air Bases and Airfields-
Military Air Bases Listing - to be added.

Aviation Museums:
Links to Aviation Museums in Germany
Aviation Museums in Austria, Germany and Switzerland
Aviation Museums Germany

Airshow Dates:
Key Airshow Dates

Aviation-Related Magazines:
Magazines Guide

Magazine Dealers:
Recommended second hand magazine dealers

Aviation Bibliography:
German Aviation Bibliography - to be added

Aviation Bookshops:
On-line bookshops

Web Links:
wikipedia: Berlin-Schonefeld Airport

Dresden Aiport