Try it for yourself
195Saxony-Anhalt and former districts

Saxony-Anhalt belongs to the territory of the former GDR.

Halle and Magdeburg are useful anchors: their GDR districts provide the main historical connection to present-day Saxony-Anhalt.

About 4 min readReviewed: 20 October 2026
AI-generated narrow path through golden grain fields in low sunlight.
Saxony-Anhalt State ArchiveSaxony-Anhalt 1945–90
A fictional landscape, not geographical evidence of a particular location in Saxony-Anhalt.
The short answer

Saxony-Anhalt.

Of the states listed, Saxony-Anhalt lies in former GDR territory. For much of the GDR period, the districts of Halle and Magdeburg were the main administrative divisions there. The state of Saxony-Anhalt was re-established in 1990.

Try it for yourselfExam question · No. 195
Which current German federal state formerly belonged to the territory of the GDR?

Choose one answer. Your result stays on this page only.

Why do older maps show different names?

A state of Saxony-Anhalt had existed from 1947. It was dissolved in the GDR in 1952, largely replaced by the districts of Halle and Magdeburg. Administration now followed the GDR’s centralised structure.

With German unity in 1990, Saxony-Anhalt was re-established as a state. Its present-day name is therefore correct in the test even though a map from the middle of the GDR period mainly shows district names. The question asks for a historical territorial classification, not a list of contemporary authorities.

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An AI-generated present-day study situation, not historical people or records.

The other three answers

The different accession histories help distinguish these alternatives.

Hesse

Hesse was already part of the Federal Republic of 1949. It is not the state on former GDR territory sought in this selection.

North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia also belonged to the early Federal Republic. Do not confuse a western state with one of the five states of 1990.

Saarland

Saarland joined the Federal Republic in 1957. Its distinct post-war history does not imply that it belonged to the GDR.

Saxony-Anhalt is not the same state as Saxony.

Both names appear among the five states of 1990, but they identify two separate federal states. When the test offers Saxony-Anhalt, choose the full name rather than mentally shortening it to Saxony.

District and state boundaries did not coincide exactly at every point in time. Halle and Magdeburg are useful learning aids; that does not mean every district and state boundary has remained unchanged since 1947.

Saxony-Anhalt 1945–90 · Saxony-Anhalt State Archive ↗
Your memory cue

Halle and Magdeburg point you towards Saxony-Anhalt.

Connect the familiar place names with the state’s full name and its classification as former GDR territory.

Three words for this question

Sachsen-AnhaltSaxony-Anhalt
A present-day German federal state, distinct from Saxony.
auflösento dissolve
Here: to end an administrative unit in its existing form.
die Verwaltungsgrenzeadministrative boundary
The territorial boundary between administrative units.
Landesarchiv Sachsen-Anhalt · 1945–1990 ↗

These questions cover other members of the same group of states.

192Which current German federal state formerly belonged to the territory of the GDR?
Catalogue answer

Brandenburg

Brandenburg is another state correctly assigned to the East.

198Which current German federal state formerly belonged to the territory of the GDR?
Catalogue answer

Saxony

Saxony is tested as a separate federal state.

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Sources & context

An independently written study guide, not an official BAMF publication or advice for an individual case. The sources below were reviewed on 20 October 2026 for the claims explained here; the test question comes from the existing question bank.

The two editorial pictures are AI-generated illustrations. They do not document real events or official proceedings.