West Berlin
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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West Berlin was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although no specific date on which the sectors of Berlin occupied by the Western Allies became "West Berlin", 1949 is widely accepted as when the name was adopted. Although not a part of the Federal Republic of Germany, West Berlin aligned itself politically with that state and was directly or indirectly represented in its federal institutions.
West Berlin was formally controlled by the Western Allies and 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 an "island of freedom" and America's most loyal counterpart in Europe.
See also
- Berlin Crisis of 1961
- 1986 West Berlin discotheque bombing
- Berlin Brigade
- History of Germany (1945–1990)
- Judgment in Berlin
- List of Commandants of Berlin Sectors
- Nonviolent revolution
- RAF Gatow
- Spandau Prison
- Stunde Null
- United States Army Berlin