London Banter - View Single Post - Complete (almost) Shutdown of Berlin Train System

Lüko Willms[_2_]

Am 07.01.2012 22:35, schrieb :

West Berlin was technically not a part of the Bundesrepublik,

on the contrary. It was _legally_ not part of the FRG, but in
technical terms it was integrated into the FRG. They used the same
currency, Westberlin was integrated into the FRG telephone network
(using the same international prefix 49), just to name two examples. But
they had their own postal stamps.

although its citizens did have West German passports.

No, they had Westberlin ID cards. As said above: Westberlin was
technically integrated in the FRG, but legally a separate political
entity. The last word in all matters lay with the occupation powers (to
come back closer to our subject in discussion, it was an officer of the
British occupation troops who ordered the S-Bahn workers strike of 1980
to be ended).

But using a trick, they could also get an FRG passport -- for
example, I signed a sublet form for a Westberlin social-democratic
student leader, so that he could get a secondary address in the West
German city I happened to live back then, and thus an FRG passport. This
passport enabled him to cross the border (the Wall) to the GDR side of
Berlin, which was not allowed for Westberlin citizens (this was in the
late 1960ies).

Cheers,
L.W.