User:ChryZ MUC/Thuringia

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The State of Thuringia (German: Land Thüringen) was as short-lived subdivision of the Soviet occupation zone (until 1949) and state of East Germany (from 1949) which corresponds widely to the present-day German state Thuringia. It was formed in June 1945 by the US Military Government in Germany as Thuringia was completely occupied by US troops at the time of the German unconditional surrender. Following the decisions at the Yalta Conference, this territory became rapidly under leadership of the Soviet Military Administration in Germany (SMAD) in July 1945. The state was mainly a re-establishment of the Free State of Thuringia in its borders of 1944 (including the government district Erfurt from the former Province of Saxony and the Landkreis Herrschaft Schmalkalden from the Province of Hesse-Nassau), excluding the exclaves south and west from the Inner German border: Allstedt (to Saxony-Anhalt), Ostheim (to Bavaria) and some small parts to Lower Saxony. A transfer of territory was also carried out with the Province of Kurhessen which later became part of Greater Hesse following the Wanfried agreement. Compared to the administrative divisions of Nazi Germany, it comprised the Gaue Thuringia and small parts of Electoral Hesse.

Due to the post-war situation in Germany, the state administrations in all subdivisions of the occupation zones were appointed. In the short period during the US occupation, Hermann Brill became the president of the state administration in Thuringia. His successor became Rudolf Paul, who was elected later to the Minister-President. The first election for the Landtag of Thuringia was held on 20 October 1946, on the same day the elections for the Landtage of the other divisions in the SBZ had been ruled out. The Soviet-backed SED (which became the ruling party of the GDR from 1949 onwards) received 49.3% of the votes, LDPD 28.5%, CDU 18.9% and VdgB 3.3%. After Paul escaped to the US occupation zone in 1947, Werner Eggerath became the second Minister-President. In December 1946, the state-constitution was adopted. However, all resolutions by the parliament were made subject to approval of the SMAD.

After the foundation of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in October 1949, a second election for the Landtag was held in October 1950. The only party was the National Front, an alliance of political parties and mass organisations controlled by the SED, which received 99.1% of the votes. Following this election, it became the first and only time that six members of the Landtag were send to the Chamber of States of the GDR. As the ruling communists aimed to build a quasi-unitary state, the state was dissolved by a change of the Constitution of East Germany in July 1952. All of the five Länder were replaced by 14 newly formed Bezirke. In case of Saxony, the territory was transferred to the Bezirke Erfurt, Gera, Leipzig and Suhl. The abolishment of the Chamber of States in 1958 and two ratifications of the constitution in 1968 and 1974 finally eliminate all kinds of federalism in the GDR until the peaceful revolution in 1989. After the first free elections in the GDR, the five Länder were re-established with some smaller geographical adjustments in August 1990 to accede to the Federal Republic of Germany.

Category:States and territories established in 1920 Category:States and territories established in 1952