 The German Democratic Republic (GDR) was established in 1949 as a communist state from the Soviet Zone of Occupation.The GDR was "de facto" ruled by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), whose leadership lived in mansions on the upscale Majakowskiring in the Pankow district of East Berlin.After the events of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, the SED party leadership decided to build themselves a secure residential zone in a more remote location than their mansions on the Majakowskiring.