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The East German mark (German: Mark der DDR [ˈmaʁk deːɐ̯ ˌdeːdeːˈʔɛʁ] ⓘ), commonly called the eastern mark (German: Ostmark [ˈɔstmaʁk] ⓘ) in West Germany and after reunification), in East Germany only Mark, was the currency of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).
East Germany (German: Ostdeutschland [ˈɔstˌdɔʏtʃlant] ⓘ), officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR; Deutsche Demokratische Republik [ˈdɔʏtʃə demoˈkʁaːtɪʃə ʁepuˈbliːk] ⓘ, DDR [ˌdeːdeːˈʔɛʁ] ⓘ), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990.
It was introduced as the official currency of East Germany in July 1990, replacing the East German mark (Mark der DDR), in preparation for unification on 3 October 1990. East German marks were exchanged for Deutsche Marks at a rate of 1:1 for the first M 4,000 and 2:1 for larger amounts.
It resulted from the affiliations of the municipalities to two different currencies; East Berlin districts would use the East German mark (Mark der DDR), and West Berlin districts would use the German mark (DM). Another cause was the difference is residential and industrial areas throughout Berlin, with the western districts being more prosperous.
Starting in April 1979, East Germans were required to convert hard currency at the East German state bank (Staatsbank der DDR) into the so-called forum check. A forum check mark had a value of one West German mark. The Forum Außenhandelsgesellschaft mbH was responsible for the management of Intershops and had 900 employees.
The Reichsmark was replaced by the Deutsche Mark at a rate of 10:1 (1:1 for cash and current accounts) in June 1948 in the Trizone [5] and later in the same year by the East German mark in the Soviet Occupation Zone (colloquially also "Ostmark", since 1968 officially "Mark der DDR").
Another key task of the State Bank (on which it expended considerable resources) was attempting to control the circulation of foreign exchange within the GDR. This was primarily because of concerns that the circulation of foreign exchange (particularly the Deutsche Mark) could lead to the establishment of a parallel currency that would encourage the black market, damage the East German Mark ...
From April 1979, all East Germans were required by law to convert any Deutsche Marks (and other western currencies) they possessed into Forum checks at a branch of the Staatsbank der DDR immediately. A Forum check mark was worth 1 West German Deutsche Mark , the smallest denomination was 50 Pfennigs and the highest was for 500 West German ...