Editing West Berlin (section)

{{Short description|Political enclave (1948–1990)}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}

{{More citations needed|date=December 2023}}

{{Infobox country
| native_name            = {{lang|de|West-Berlin}}<br/>{{lang|fr|Berlin-Ouest}}<br/>{{lang|de|Berlin (West)}}
| conventional_long_name = West Berlin
| common_name            = West Berlin
| status                 = [[Allied-occupied Germany|Western Allies–occupied sectors of Berlin]] {{small|([[De jure]])}}<br>[[Independent city|Free city]] {{small|([[De facto]] territory of the [[West Germany|Federal Republic of Germany]])}}
| era                    = Cold War
| year_start             = 1948
| date_start             = November
| event_start            = [[Soviet Union|Soviet]]-backed coup against the elected government of Berlin
| year_end               = 1990
| date_end               = 3 October
| event_end              = [[German reunification|Reunification]]
| official_languages     = [[German language|German]]
| languages              = 
| p1                     = Allied-occupied Germany
| s1                     = History of Germany (1990–present){{!}}Germany
| s2                     = Berlin
| flag_p1                = Flag of Germany (1946-1949).svg
| flag_s1                = Flag of Germany.svg
| flag_s2                = Flag of Berlin.svg
| flag                   = Flag of Berlin
| image_flag             = Flag_of_Berlin.svg
| image_coat             = DEU Berlin COA.svg
| symbol_type_article    = Coat of arms of Berlin
| image_map              = File:Locator map West-Berlin in former Germany (1957-1990).svg
| image_map_caption      = West Berlin (red)
| title_leader           = [[Governing Mayor of Berlin#Partitioned Germany (1948–1990)|Governing Mayor]]
| leader1                = [[Ernst Reuter]] ([[Social Democratic Party of Germany|SPD]])
| leader2                = [[Walter Momper]] (SPD)
| year_leader1           = 1948–1953 <small>''(first)''</small>
| year_leader2           = 1989–1990 <small>''(last)''</small>
| stat_area1             = 479.9
| stat_year1             = 1989
| stat_pop1              = 2,130,525
| currency               = [[Deutsche Mark]] (official)<br/>[[United States dollar]] (also widely used)
| today                  = [[Germany]]
}}
{{History of Berlin}}

'''West Berlin''' ({{langx|de|Berlin (West)}} or {{lang|de|West-Berlin}}, {{IPA|de|ˈvɛstbɛʁˌliːn|-|De-West-Berlin.ogg}}) was a political [[enclave]] which comprised the western part of [[Berlin]] from 1948 until 1990, during the [[Cold War]]. Although West Berlin lacked any [[sovereignty]] and was under military occupation until [[German reunification]] in 1990, the territory was claimed by the [[West Germany|Federal Republic of Germany]] (FRG or West Germany), despite being entirely surrounded by the [[East Germany|German Democratic Republic]] (GDR or East Germany). The legality of this claim was contested by the [[Soviet Union]] and other [[Eastern Bloc]] countries. However, West Berlin de facto aligned itself politically with the FRG from May 1949 and was thereafter treated as a ''de facto'' [[city-state]] of that country. After 1949, it was directly or indirectly represented in the institutions of the FRG, and most of its residents were citizens of the FRG.

West Berlin was formally controlled by the [[Western Allies]] and entirely surrounded by [[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 [[free world|freedom]]."<ref>{{cite book |title=Berlin: The New Capital in the East |last=Daum |first=Andreas W. |author-link=Andreas Daum |editor1-last=Trommler |editor1-first=Frank |year=2000 |chapter=America's Berlin, 1945‒2000: Between Myths and Visions |publisher=Johns Hopkins University |pages=49–73 |url=https://www.aicgs.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/berlin.pdf |access-date=2 March 2021 |archive-date=13 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613135215/https://www.aicgs.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/berlin.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> It was heavily subsidized by West Germany as a "showcase of the West."<ref>Tobias Hochscherf, Christoph Laucht, Andrew Plowman, ''Divided, But Not Disconnected: German Experiences of the Cold War'', p. 109, Berghahn Books, 2013, {{ISBN|9781782381006}}</ref> A wealthy city, West Berlin was noted for its distinctly cosmopolitan character, and as a centre of education, research and culture. With about two million inhabitants, West Berlin had the largest population of any city in Germany during the Cold War era.<ref>[https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/11/07/berlin-where-rivalry-of-east-west-soars "Berlin: Where Rivalry of East, West Soars"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331181326/https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/11/07/berlin-where-rivalry-of-east-west-soars |date=31 March 2019 }}, ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'', 18 July 1983</ref>

West Berlin was {{cvt|100|mi|km|-1|order=flip}} east and north of the [[inner German border]] and only accessible by land from West Germany by [[crossing the inner German border|narrow rail and highway corridors]]. It consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors established in 1945. The [[Berlin Wall]], built in 1961, physically separated West Berlin from its East Berlin and East German surroundings until it [[Fall of the Berlin Wall|fell]] in 1989.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/13/newsid_3054000/3054060.stm "1961: Berliners wake to divided city"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125010705/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/13/newsid_3054000/3054060.stm |date=25 January 2021 }}, [[BBC News]]</ref> On 3 October 1990, the day Germany was officially [[German reunification|reunified]], East and West Berlin united, joined the Federal Republic as a [[Stadtstaaten|Stadtstaat]] (city-state) and eventually became the [[capital of Germany]] again.