Special conditions were assigned to Berlin , which the four powers divided into four sectors . A united German state government existed in the city until it broke apart in 1948 . After 1949 , both West Berlin and East Berlin ( officially only called Berlin ) were in effect incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic , respectively , despite not legally being part of these countries . In the Soviet occupation zone , five '' Länder '' were established which roughly corresponded to the preexisting states and provinces . ( The territories east of the Oder – Neisse line had been transferred from the Soviet occupation zone to the Polish authorities as agreed upon at the Potsdam Conference . ) The five states were : In 1949 , the Soviet occupation zone was transformed into the German Democratic Republic . The five '' Länder '' ( and East Berlin , though the latter only with consultative votes ) participated in the legislative branch through the '' Länderkammer '' ( Chamber of States ) , which was elected by the '' Landtage '' ( state parliaments ) . However , the '' Länder '' were not constituting entities forming a federal republic ( as in West Germany ) but rather decentralised administrative entities of a quasi-unitary state
Potsdam Conference
Potsdam Conference
Administrative divisions of East Germany