Administrative division of the German Democratic Republic

Following the redrawing of Germany's national boundaries after 1945, there were five states or "Länder" in the Soviet occupation zone:
*Brandenburg,
*Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania ("Mecklenburg-Vorpommern"),
*Saxony ("Sachsen"),
*Saxony-Anhalt ("Sachsen-Anhalt"), and
*Thuringia ("Thüringen"), which, together with East Berlin formed the German Democratic Republic in 1949.

In 1952, the "Länder" of East Germany were abolished, and the GDR was divided into "Bezirke" (districts), each named after the largest city. These districts were again divided into smaller districts, namely in rural districts and urban districts (Kreise & Stadtkreise):

*Bezirk Cottbus
**Stadtkreis Cottbus
**Kreis Bad Liebenwerda
**Kreis Calau (Lower Sorbian: Wokrejs Kalawa)
**Kreis Cottbus-Land (Lower Sorbian: Wokrejs Chośebuz)
**Kreis Finsterwalde
**Kreis Forst (Lower Sorbian: Wokrejs Baršć)
**Kreis Guben (Lower Sorbian: Wokrejs Gubin)
**Kreis Herzberg
**Kreis Hoyerswerda (Lower Sorbian: Wokrjes Wojerecy)
**Kreis Jessen
**Kreis Luckau
**Kreis Lübben (Lower Sorbian: Wokrejs Lubin)
**Kreis Senftenberg (Lower Sorbian: Wokrejs Zły Komorow)
**Kreis Spremberg (Lower Sorbian: Wokrejs Grodk)
**Kreis Weißwasser (Lower Sorbian: Wokrjes Bĕła Woda)
*Bezirk Dresden
**Stadtkreis Dresden
**Stadtkreis Görlitz
**Kreis Bautzen (Lower Sorbian: Wokrjes Budyšin)
**Kreis Bischofswerda
**Kreis Dippoldiswalde
**Kreis Dresden-Land
**Kreis Freital
**Kreis Görlitz-Land
**Kreis Großenhain
**Kreis Kamenz
**Kreis Löbau
**Kreis Meißen
**Kreis Niesky
**Kreis Pirna
**Kreis Riesa
**Kreis Sebnitz
**Kreis Zittau

*Bezirk Erfurt
**Stadtkreis Erfurt
**Stadtkreis Weimar
**Kreis Apolda
**Kreis Arnstadt
**Kreis Eisenach
**Kreis Erfurt-Land
**Kreis Gotha
**Kreis Heiligenstadt
**Kreis Langensalza
**Kreis Mühlhausen
**Kreis Nordhausen
**Kreis Sömmerda
**Kreis Sondershausen
**Kreis Weimar-Land

*Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder)
**Stadtkreis Frankfurt (Oder)
**Stadtkreis Eisenhüttenstadt
**Stadtkreis Schwedt/Oder
**Kreis Angermünde
**Kreis Bad Freienwalde
**Kreis Beeskow
**Kreis Bernau
**Kreis Eberswalde
**Kreis Eisenhüttenstadt
**Kreis Fürstenwalde
**Kreis Seelow
**Kreis Strausberg

*Bezirk Gera
**Stadtkreis Gera
**Stadtkreis Jena
**Kreis Eisenberg
**Kreis Gera-Land
**Kreis Greiz
**Kreis Jena
**Kreis Lobenstein
**Kreis Pößneck
**Kreis Rudolstadt
**Kreis Saalfeld
**Kreis Schleiz
**Kreis Stadtroda
**Kreis Zeulenroda

*Bezirk Halle
**Stadtkreis Halle
**Stadtkreis Dessau
**Stadtkreis Halle-Neustadt (since May, 12th 1967)
**Kreis Artern
**Kreis Aschersleben
**Kreis Bernburg
**Kreis Bitterfeld
**Kreis Eisleben
**Kreis Gräfenhainichen
**Kreis Hettstedt
**Kreis Hohenmölsen
**Kreis Köthen
**Kreis Merseburg
**Kreis Naumburg
**Kreis Nebra
**Kreis Quedlinburg
**Kreis Querfurt
**Kreis Roßlau
**Kreis Saalkreis
**Kreis Sangerhausen
**Kreis Weißenfels
**Kreis Wittenberg
**Kreis Zeitz

*Bezirk Karl-Marx-Stadt
**Stadtkreis Karl-Marx-Stadt (since 1990, Chemnitz)
**Stadtkreis Plauen
**Stadtkreis Zwickau
**Stadtkreis Johanngeorgenstadt (just till 1957)
**Stadtkreis Schneeberg (just till 1958)
**Kreis Annaberg
**Kreis Aue
**Kreis Auerbach
**Kreis Brand-Erbisdorf
**Kreis Flöha
**Kreis Freiberg
**Kreis Glauchau
**Kreis Hainichen
**Kreis Hohenstein-Ernstthal
**Kreis Karl-Marx-Stadt-Land
**Kreis Klingenthal
**Kreis Marienberg
**Kreis Oelsnitz
**Kreis Plauen-Land
**Kreis Reichenbach
**Kreis Rochlitz
**Kreis Schwarzenberg
**Kreis Stollberg
**Kreis Werdau
**Kreis Zschopau
**Kreis Zwickau-Land

*Bezirk Leipzig
**Stadtkreis Leipzig
**Kreis Altenburg
**Kreis Borna
**Kreis Delitzsch
**Kreis Döbeln
**Kreis Eilenburg
**Kreis Geithain
**Kreis Grimma
**Kreis Leipzig-Land
**Kreis Oschatz
**Kreis Schmölln
**Kreis Torgau
**Kreis Wurzen

*Bezirk Magdeburg
**Stadtkreis Magdeburg
**Kreis Burg
**Kreis Gardelegen
**Kreis Genthin
**Kreis Halberstadt
**Kreis Haldensleben
**Kreis Havelberg
**Kreis Kalbe (Milde) (till December 1987)
**Kreis Klötze
**Kreis Loburg (till June 1957)
**Kreis Oschersleben
**Kreis Osterburg
**Kreis Salzwedel
**Kreis Schönebeck
**Kreis Seehausen (till July 1965)
**Kreis Staßfurt
**Kreis Stendal
**Kreis Tangerhütte (till December 1987)
**Kreis Wanzleben
**Kreis Wernigerode
**Kreis Wolmirstedt
**Kreis Zerbst

*Bezirk Neubrandenburg
**Stadtkreis Neubrandenburg (from January 1969)
**Kreis Altentreptow
**Kreis Anklam
**Kreis Demmin
**Kreis Malchin
**Kreis Neubrandenburg-Land
**Kreis Neustrelitz
**Kreis Pasewalk
**Kreis Prenzlau
**Kreis Röbel/Müritz
**Kreis Strasburg
**Kreis Templin
**Kreis Teterow
**Kreis Ueckermünde
**Kreis Waren

*Bezirk Potsdam
**Stadtkreis Potsdam
**Stadtkreis Brandenburg an der Havel
**Kreis Belzig
**Kreis Brandenburg
**Kreis Gransee
**Kreis Jüterbog
**Kreis Königs-Wusterhausen
**Kreis Kyritz
**Kreis Luckenwalde
**Kreis Nauen
**Kreis Neuruppin
**Kreis Oranienburg
**Kreis Potsdam
**Kreis Pritzwalk
**Kreis Rathenow
**Kreis Wittstock
**Kreis Zossen

*Bezirk Rostock
**Stadtkreis Rostock
**Stadtkreis Greifswald (from January 1974)
**Stadtkreis Stralsund
**Stadtkreis Wismar
**Kreis Bad Doberan
**Kreis Greifswald
**Kreis Grevesmühlen
**Kreis Grimmen
**Kreis Ribnitz-Damgarten
**Kreis Rostock-Land
**Kreis Rügen
**Kreis Stralsund
**Kreis Wismar
**Kreis Wolgast

*Bezirk Schwerin
**Stadtkreis Schwerin
**Kreis Bützow
**Kreis Gadebusch
**Kreis Güstrow
**Kreis Hagenow
**Kreis Ludwigslust
**Kreis Lübz
**Kreis Parchim
**Kreis Perleberg
**Kreis Schwerin-Land
**Kreis Sternberg

*Bezirk Suhl
**Stadtkreis Suhl
**Kreis Bad Salzungen
**Kreis Hildburghausen
**Kreis Ilmenau
**Kreis Meiningen
**Kreis Neuhaus
**Kreis Schmalkalden
**Kreis Sonneberg
**Kreis Suhl-Land

East Berlin was claimed as capital city, not a "Bezirk", and was described either as "Berlin" or "Berlin, Hauptstadt der DDR" ("Berlin, Capital of the GDR"). (West Berlin was known as "Westberlin" until the final years of the GDR, when "Berlin (West)", the term used in West Germany, began also to be used.)

In 1990, the "Länder" were reinstated and acceded to the Federal Republic of Germany. Each "Land" is divided into districts, or "Kreise," as in West Germany and the "Bezirke" were abolished.