In 1949, the Soviet Union used their zone of occupation for the creation of an independent East Germany separate from West Germany. The former provincial boundaries used prior to the Third Reich were used in Eastern Germany and remained intact until the Administrative Reform of 1952 divided the country into 14 arbitrarily created districts referred as “bezirke;” East Berlin became the 15th district in 1961. The state borders were established to their current boundaries in 1990 as part of Germany’s reunification.
