What does "DDR"  Mean?
 

           East German Shepherd Dogs are German Shepherd Dogs of the former East Germany,, the Deutsche Demokratische Republik or "DDR" (1949-1990).  The DDR was a political, social, economic and geographic entity that was physically solidified with the tragically oppressive construction of
the Berlin Wall in 1961,  and which began it's political and physical dissolution with
the history-making and liberating fall of that barrier on November 9,  1989. 

   Just as the geo-political entity formerly known as the "DDR" no longer exists today, the "DDR German Shepherd Dog is a historical relic of a bygone time and place, and it no longer exists today.  Rather, the generations of true "DDR " bloodlines are limited to a span of roughly four decades of development in the former East Germany.  These bloodlines may be found in the third, fourth, and further generations back in the pedigrees of working, sporting, and companion dogs found around the world today.  These modern representatives of the German Shepherd Dog breed, with a genetic heritage in the former DDR bloodlines, have their true provenance determined by the place of their actual birth. 

                                                       "Utility is the true criterion of beauty"