Kniffka Philatelie

The Soviet Occupation Zone (German: Sowjetische Besatzungszone (SBZ) or Ostzone; Russian: Советская зона Германии, Sovetskaya zona Germanii, "Soviet Zone of Germany") was the area of central Germany occupied by the Soviet Union from 1945 on, at the end of World War II. On 7 October 1949 the German Democratic Republic, which became commonly referred to as (East Germany), was established in the Soviet Occupation Zone.