(Reuters) - Following is timeline of East Germany which united with the West just months after the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. Skip related content
May 8, 1945 - Nazi Germany capitulates, country divided into
occupation zones.
October 7, 1949 - German Democratic Republic founded.
June 17, 1953 - Soviet troops quell workers' uprising.
January 18, 1956 - East German army established, country joins Warsaw Pact soon after.
August 13, 1961 - Berlin Wall goes up.
March 19, 1970 - East and West German leaders meet for first
time in Erfurt, East Germany.
May 3, 1971 - Erich Honecker replaces Walter Ulbricht as party chief.
December 21, 1972 - Basic Treaty signed between East and West Germany, paving way for diplomatic recognition.
November 16, 1976 - Poet and singer Wolf Biermann stripped of citizenship, prompting many artists to emigrate in disgust.
September 7, 1987 - Honecker visits West Germany.
January 17, 1988 - Demonstration at official march sparks major crackdown on dissent.
May 7, 1989 - Communists and allies score nearly 99 per cent
in local elections later shown to have been rigged.
July/August 1989 - Would-be emigrants pack West German embassies across East Europe to seek exit papers.
September 10, 1989 - Hungary opens its border to Austria, allowing thousands of East Germans to reach West.
October 18, 1989 - After unrest across country, including huge demonstrations in the city of Leipzig, and continued exodus, Honecker quits. Egon Krenz replaces him.
November 9, 1989 - Berlin Wall opened.
March 18, 1990 - East Germany's first free elections. Voters
opt for centre right pro-unity government.
July 1, 1990 - East and West Germany merge economies, East adopts deutschemark as currency.
September 12, 1990 - World War Two allies and two German states sign treaty restoring sovereignty to future united Germany.
October 3, 1990 - East Germany unites with West Germany.
(Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit; editing by Ralph Boulton)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The pandemic of swine flu may be hitting a peak in the Northern Hemisphere, global health officials said on Friday, but they cautioned it was far from over.
