How was Berlin divided after WWII?

Question

The city itself was in what was East Germany. How then, was West Berlin able to function? If the city was surrounded by communist territory, why weren't the communists able to control the entire city? Who erected the Wall - West Berlin or East Berlin.

Answer 1

After the end of WWII, the city was split into four different administrative parts, and in 1949, when the two German states were founded, were more or less merged into two, although Berlin was still officially divided into French, American, British and Soviet zones until 1991.

In the years between 1945 and 1989, Berlin became perhaps the primary showcase of the Cold War. The determination of both the Eastern and Western blocs to hold onto Berlin was demonstrated early on during the Berlin Blockade of 1948-49, when the Soviet Union closed land access to Berlin and the Western "Raisin Bombers" flew food and fuel to the blockaded city for almost a year. Both the West and East German governments subsidized Berlin far more heavily than any other city, well aware of the city's symbolic value. In spite of the efforts at rebuilding, ruins marked the landscape of both Berlins for decades, and even today you will see walls filled with bulletholes. Two prominent buildings in the West remain purposefully in ruins.

In the East, the royal palace, heavily damaged by bombs, was destroyed in 1950. In its place a glass-and-stone Palace of the Republic was built, which housed the East German parliament as well as restaurants and bowling alleys for use by common citizens. Only one part of the royal palace was saved, as part of the East German effort to replace many of the imperial markers with socialist ones - the balcony from which Liebknecht called forth the socialist republic.

Meanwhile, particularly in the 1950s, so-called Plattenbauten began to dominate the residential landscape - strapped for cash, the government built low-quality but high-residency prefab apartment buildings. In 1953, the first and, for decades, last major anti-government protest occurred, as thousands of workers took to the streets to protest poor working conditions - a major embarrassment to the socialist state. The protests ended violently; exact numbers have never been given, but even the official figures listed 21 dead and 187 injured, not to mention about 13,000 imprisoned.

West Berlin, meanwhile, benefited from the "Wirtschaftswunder," the upswing in the economy in the 1950s, a decade of rebuilding and prosperity. The West German capital was moved to Bonn for the next 50 years, and in the wake of the Blockade, Berlin was considered a risky investment. It was subsidized heavily by the government, which offered generous incentives for people to move to Berlin. With the institution of mandatory military service in West Germany in 1956, Berlin also became a haven for peaceniks, as Berlin residents were exempt from this service.

In August 1961, the Wall was erected, in large part as a response to growing discontent within the GDR and the increasing flight of East Germans to the West. It is no exaggeration to say that this event shocked much of the world, not only for its audacity but also for its unexpectedness; the Wall was erected almost overnight. It too became a heavily symbolic location for conflict between the East and the West. Few believed the East German government's claims that the Wall was built to protect the GDR from the fascist West, particularly given the number of escapes and attempted escapes by Easterners. John F Kennedy made history in his 1963 "I am a Berliner" speech.

Particularly in the 1970s and 1980s, the area around the Wall became a favorite location of leftist protestors. The Wall had been built in the Soviet sector, and the borders of the Soviet sector extended about five feet beyond the Wall. Practically, this area was a no-man's land, where Western police had no jurisdiction. Occasionally, protesters actually jumped over the Wall into the East, where they were generally greeted cordially, given coffee, and escorted back to the border (the East seeing this, understandably, as a fine chance for propaganda). The collapse of the GDR was not only an ideological challenge for the German left, but a practical challenge for the radical movements in Berlin.

The graffiti on the Western side of the Wall was also a vast blank canvas for art and ideological critique.

In the 1960s and 1970s, West Berlin was once again known as the leftist city. Years of anti-military migration contributed to the formation of a substantial, radically leftist student movement. Protesters were habitually met with the phrase, "Geh doch rüber!" - "Just go over there!" - and police were often brutal, even firing on crowds. (Benno Ohnesorg's shooting in 1967 in Berlin had much the same impact as Kent State did in this country.)
The late 1970s and 1980s were relatively quiescent; as the Western and Eastern blocs slowly moved toward détente, Berlin's symbolism was more uncomfortable for both sides. This remained the case until 1988-9, when months-long anti-government protests in East Berlin resulted in the Wall not falling but being surmounted. The pictures of Berliners celebrating atop the Wall in November 1989 are perhaps the most prominent images of the eventual fall of the Eastern Bloc.

Berlin is also a city of immigrants, and an ideological battle around issues of immigration is being fought at all levels. The city's population is over 10% "foreign," in some areas so-called foreigners make up almost half the population. Still, many politicians refuse to see Germany as a site for immigration; nevertheless, the city's enormous construction boom lives off the work of illegally immigrated laborers. Immigrants come primarily from Turkey and the former Eastern Bloc, but there are substantial minorities of African and Latin American immigrants as well. (European Union citizens aren't usually considered immigrants.]

Now, Berlin is again the site of ideological and architectural battles. Constant debates surround the issue of how the New Germany should be represented. Major new building has taken place, both privately and publicly. I left town for three weeks once and when I returned, an old building on the corner by my subway stop had been replaced by a new hotel. There was nearly a decade of debate on whether a Holocaust memorial should be built and if so, how and where; a similarly contentious debate surrounded the Palast of the Republic and whether it should be destroyed and if so, whether the old Royal Palast should be rebuilt in its place. Both of these questions, while they have received several different parliamentary answers, do not seem to have been finally settled. Christo's Wrapped Reichstag project (June 1995) foregrounded a lot of these questions, enclosing the old parliament in thousands of meters of gauze while the national parliament in Bonn decided what to do with it. Many of the battles are also fought over street names. Street names in Germany, and especially in Berlin, are extremely political. The West, for example, named one of its major streets "Street of the 16. June," the date of the workers' uprising in Berlin, while the East named its streets after communist leaders like Lenin and Ho Chi Minh. City plans from the different eras of Berlin are fascinating, as streets go through continual renamings - Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz to Schloßplatz to Marx-Engels-Platz, and now many of the socialist street names are being reconsidered - often to severe opposition.
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Answer 2

Berlin had been the capital of Germany until the end of WWII. Due to the situation that the Soviet troops had occupied the Eastern and the British, French and American troops the Western part of Germany the town "ended" up lying in the middle of the than future German Democratic Republic (the socialist part). Very soon after the end of the war the political differences between the Western allies and the Soviet Union resulted in the cold war: The Western allies started to build up the new democratic Federal Republic of Germany as a stronghold against communism and the Soviet Union separated their area of influence from the "united" three Western parts. The same happened to Berlin: The three Western parts became the democratic West-Berlin and the former Soviet part became East-Berlin - later devided by the wall because people form the East massively fled their country. By the way today is the 40th anniversary of the construction of the Berlin wall and later the massive fence deviding both Germanies from each other for 28 years and causing so many deaths, violence and sorrow. West-Berlin was connected with Western-Germany by a special "transit" highway. Citizens of Eastern Germany usually where not allowed to travel on this highway because they had no permission to leave their country - only if they were retired or had a special permission. And Germans from the West where not allowed to make "detours" from this highway on their way to West-Berlin. West-Berlin was kind of a democratic "island" in the socialist realm.

Answer 3

The wall was erected by the East Germans.

East Berlin belonged to the Communist influence while West Berlin had 3 influences Part of it went to the US part to Britain, and part to France

Answer 4

It was divided into eastern and western Germany by the Berlin Wall during the Cold War right after World War II

Eastern Germany was completely Communist run by the Soviet Union (now known as Russia) and it's citizens were strictly prohibited from crossing the Border into the Democratic Western Germany. This lead to huge economic differences and standards of living.

Answer 5

The city was divided into four military zones. The British, French and the American zones became West Berlin. The Soviet zone became East Berlin. In 1990, both berlins reunified.

Answer 6

Berlin is a vivant, passionately and addictive town, a town that is just ideal for spend the vacation. Learn more with hotelbye . In Berlin you'll just appreciate its renowned views, their vast swathes of green, their atmosphere bars and fashionable restaurants. Berlin is a important centre of politics, lifestyle, media, and science. Observed for its social flair, Berlin is home to the entire world famous Berlin Opera and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, while their diverse art scene encompasses countless galleries, functions, and museums, including these centred on Museum Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. But, nothing says Berlin like the Brandenburg Gate, extended the city's many defining monument and their reply to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Brandenburg Gate was built for King Frederick Wilhelm II in 1791 and today durante days continue being a significant symbol with several popular visitors like: Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

Answer 7

The allies controled the west while the soviets ran the east so the U.S and Great Britian thats how the West functioned

Answer 8

Supplies were flown in continuously by air.

Read up on "The Berlin Airlift".

Answer 9

In a deal negotiated by the Russians, and the USA.