Berlin Travel

Don’t worry mate, I’m a German historian

The Federal Republic of Germany, up until reunification informally called West Germany, was a joining of the three Western occupation zones: American, French, British. The German Democratic Republic, East Germany, was the Soviet zone. The three western Allies gave West Berlin to West Germany, while the Soviets kept control over East Germany, as it was a satellite state. Despite being utterly surrounded by East Germany, West Berlin was fiercely defended by America and Britain. More than once, American tanks faced down Soviet tanks at Checkpoint Charlie, the famous border crossing between East/West Berlin. Also, the Berlin Airlift is extremely important. For nearly a full year, Stalin refused land access to West Berlin, so American and British planes kept West Berlin alive by air lifting supplies (food, coal, anything to keep a city living) via Templhof Airport. Stalin ultimately gave up and allowed land access.

The western allies (“NATO”) were fiercely defensive of West Berlin, while the Soviets often tried to make the allies give it up for East Germany. This demonstrates how East and West did not trust each other. The city of Berlin specifically demonstrates the way the Cold War played out in terms of relations.

“Two thousand years ago, the proudest boast was, ‘Civis Romanus Sum*.’ Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is, ‘Ich bin ein Berliner!*’” – John Fitzgerald Kennedy

*Note: The first phrase is Latin and means, “I am a citizen of Rome”. The second is German and means, “I am a jelly doughnut.” He meant to say, “Ich bin Berliner” which means “I am a citizen of Berlin” and he was interpreted to have meant that. Minor grammatical error changed the sentence entirely.