East Germany had a fairly credible semiconductor industry. At the end of the Cold War, they were producing 1mbit DRAMs, about three years behind the West. Thi

East Germany had a fairly credible semiconductor industry. At the end of the Cold War, they were producing 1mbit DRAMs, about three years behind the West. This plant was shut down as uncompetitive during reunification, but the legacy of the industry lives on with a lot of semiconductor companies having operations in Dresden because they had access to inexpensive highly specialized and skilled labor.