II. DDR-Liga

DDR-Liga (English: 2nd East German League or 2nd GDR-League) was, from 1955 to 1963, the third level of football competition in the German Democratic Republic (GDR; Deutsche Demokratische Republik or DDR; commonly East Germany).

The league added three groups still at 14 teams each and all five were based on Bezirk (district) from north down to south and to save on travel expenses.

For the eighth and final season, the five group champions and one runners-up were promoted to the DDR-Liga, which expanded its divisions to 16 clubs, and the remaining 64 were dropped back to the Bezirksligen which became third tier leagues again.

DDR-Liga, the leagues below it were the 15 Bezirksligas, which were introduced in 1952 and formed the fourth tier of the East German pyramid for eight years.

In the last DDR-Liga season, the newly recreated states of the former East Germany introduced their own regional leagues, with the exception of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin.