Berlin-West
| West Berlin West-Berlin Berlin (West) |
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| Western Allies-occupied sectors of Berlin | ||||||
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| Historical era | Cold War | |||||
| • | End of the Berlin Blockade | 12 May 1949 | ||||
| • | Reunification | 3 October 1990 | ||||
| Today part of |
 Berlin
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West Berlin was an enclave which comprised the western part of the city of Berlin during the Cold War. It was formally controlled by the Western Allies and formed a de facto part of West Germany, and was entirely surrounded by the Soviet-controlled East Berlin and East Germany. West Berlin had great symbolic significance during the Cold War, as it was widely considered by westerners as an "island of freedom" and it was highly subsidised as a "showcase of the West." A wealthy city, West Berlin was noted for its distinctly liberal and cosmopolitan character, and as a centre of education, research and culture. With about two million inhabitants, West Berlin had the biggest population of any city in Cold War Germany.
It was 100 miles (161 kilometres) east of the Inner German border and only accessible by land from West Germany by narrow rail and highway corridors. It consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors established in 1945 and was de facto part of West Germany. It had a special and unique legal status because its administration was formally conducted by the Western Allies. East Berlin, de jure occupied and administered by the Soviet Union, was the de facto capital of East Germany. The Berlin Wall, built in 1961, physically divided West Berlin from its East German surroundings until it fell in 1989.
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Wikipedia