The eastern part went to the Russians. The western portion went to France, Britain, and the U.S. This arrangement reflected the Allied solution for the rest of country as well. In 1948, Russia withdrew from the Four Power governing bodies and blockaded Berlin, certain that West Berlin would eventually fall to them under the intimidation. West Berlin was kept alive only by airlift supplies. Previous underlying tensions between the Russians and the western powers re-emerged. The period, known as the Cold War, was and to some point still is the struggle between communist Russian beliefs and the ideals of free western democracy. What emerged was an East and West Berlin and an East and West Germany (Hofmann, 1990).West Berlin had ties with West Germany, known as the Federal Republic of Germany. The United States and Britain worked toward establishing a government in their two zones. The Basic Law, the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany, went into effect in May 1949. It expanded the size and power of the German Economic Council, provided a West German assembly, a statute governing relations between the Allies and German authorities, and merged the French zone in with the British and American zones. (U.S. Dept. of State, 1997) Although it was miles away from West Germany, and bound by strict regulations, West Berlin began to rebuild its city from the devastation of WWII. It was given special help from West Germany and the Allies. Its survival became important as a symbol of Western commitment against Soviet communism. Industries were revived, a university, called Free University, was built, and money was pumped in. West Berlin cleaned up the war destruction and grew and prospered, though not as quickly as West Germany (Hofmann, 1990).West Germany quickly moved forward toward full sovereignty and built ties with its European neighbors. It was accepted into, NATO, and the Western European Union.
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