Often in conversation about the historical division between West Berlin and East Germany. Were the two the one and the same? This article is about going into the intricacies of this topic and its relationship with East Germany and West Berlin.
1. The Division of Germany
After World War II, Germany was divided into four zones, each controlled by one of the victorious Allied powers: the four: United States, the United Kingdom, France, the Soviet Union. As a capital it was also divided into four sectors of Berlin.
The other side was West Berlin, under joint occupation by the Western powers, deep inside Soviet controlled East Germany. It began the separate life of West Berlin in East Germany.
2. West Berlin: A Western Outpost
West Berlin, although physically located with East German territory, functioned as an independent entity. The Berlin City Council, whose members were the representatives of the three Western powers, governed it.
In West Berlin, they had a special status as a example of Western democratic values and capitalist prosperity behind the Iron Curtain. The club was a symbol of resistance against the Soviet dominated regime and it attracted attention from around the world.
2.1 The Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall is a physical barrier that separated the two parts of the city which were controlled by the East German government between 1961 and 1989. It built a hard wall that divided East from West Berlin — effectively cutting off East from West.
The wall’s construction was a desparate, desperate attempt by the East German authorities to stop the mass exodus of their people to the more prosporous, more politically free West Berlin. It became a powerful symbol of the Iron Curtain and of division between East and West.
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Life in West Berlin
Conditions in West Berlin were worlds apart from those in East Germany. Since West Berlin was heavily subsidized by the Western powers (financially and politically) to enable it to stay economically viable. It helped West Berlin grow up cut off from inside East Germany.
West Berliners had Western style freedoms like a free speech, a free market economy and democratic elections. There was a healthy theater, club and arts community. The city became a centre of creativity and of alternative lifestyles.
The city however was split into two or more on the bases of which one was considered the principal town. West Berliners were at every moment reminded by the close proximity of the oppressive East German regime and live with the reality of being surrounded by the Berlin Wall.
3.1 The Airlift
In 1948, when the Soviet Union cut off all land and water access to West Berlin, the Western powers started an airlift to supply the city. It had been over 277,000 flights delivering food, fuel, other essentials to sustain the population. But it was a remarkable feat, because it showed that the Western powers were determined to back up West Berlin.
4. The Fall of the Wall
An event that came to be known as wave of protests and political change throughout Eastern Europe ended in the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Shortly after the reunification of Germany, the division between West Berlin and East Germany became insignificant.
The symbol of resilience, western values, almost gone forever with only West Berlin to hold out, was about to be united with East. It would be remembered for always being an isolated outpost, and the city’s unique history.
Conclusion
Yes, West Berlin found itself within the territory of East Germany, but it was a parallel existent with its own governance and unique status funded by the West powers. Even from West Berlin, physically isolated, this city upheld its identity and as beacon of freedom and a resistance to the Cold War. To understand the meaning of this division in relation to West and East Berlin we have to understand them both, to know the complex history that created the division of this Berlin and finally was solved with the fall of the Berlin Wall as a part of the reunification of Germany.
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