East German citizenship

Law Gazette of 20 February 1967 East German citizenship
Feb 20 1967
Law Gazette of 20 February 1967

The Volkskammer establishes a separate DDR citizenship

The constitutions of both West Germany and East Germany (DDR) foresaw the eventual reunification of the two German states; one as a socialist state, the other as a market economy. The East German state even stipulated the continued existence of a single German nationality.

The development of the Cold War rendered these hopes improbable by the mid-1960s. Seeking to foster a separate East German identity and establish the DDR as a sovereign state, the East German Parliament passed a law establishing a separate DDR citizenship. The West German state still viewed their East German cousins as fellow Germans.

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