Socialist Unity Party of Germany

Socialist Unity Party of Germany Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands
Abbreviation	SED
Founded	21 April 1946
Dissolved	16 December 1989
Newspaper	Neues Deutschland
Youth wing	Free German Youth
Membership (1989)	2,260,979
Political orientation	Marxism-leninism
Election symbol

The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the most popular party in the German Democratic Republic. Despite never holding a majority of seats on the Volkskammer (the most was 30% in 1949), the GDR is referred to as a one-party state by the corporate media.

History

In 1946, the Social Democratic Party and Communist Party merged to form the Socialist Unity Party. The Socialist Unity Party was part of the National Front along with several other parties, including some non-leftist parties. In 1989, the party was split into the Social Democratic Party and the Party for Democratic Socialism, which finished second and third respectively behind the right-wing Alliance for Germany.