On 08/01/2012 18:42, Wolfgang Schwanke wrote:
Lüko wrote
in :
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.
Probably a linguistic issue. "Technically" means just that.
They used the same
currency, Westberlin was integrated into the FRG telephone network
(using the same international prefix 49), just to name two examples.
When dialling from East Germany, you had to use different prefixes for
West Berlin or West Germany, probably just to make a political point.
Likewhise when dialling from West Berlin, prefixes for East Berlin and
East Germany were different, for the same reason.
I didn't think that it would have been very easy to call into West
Berlin from East Berlin, one of the reasons being the lack of available
lines between the two entities.
I would also think that the East German government would not have been
too keen on its citizens ringing West Berlin or West Germany all together.
although its citizens did have West German passports.
No, they had Westberlin ID cards.
Both statements are true. More precisely, the ID cards were "auxiliary
ID cards" who did not state the issuing country. The same "auxiliary"
ID cards used to be issued in East Berlin until the mid-1950s.
But using a trick, they could also get an FRG passport
West Berliners could get an FRG passport without any trick. They were
issued by West Berlin authorities. This passport was acceptable in all
non-Eastern bloc countries.
And in the Eastern bloc countries?
The only difference between such a passport and the one the same person
could acquire from West Berlin authorities was the place of residence
stated. This little detail however caused it to be acceptable for entry
into East Berlin without prior visa application. That's why some people
were keen to get one, and it's the only reason.
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).
Also true. After 1971 West Berliners could go there, yet the visa
requirements continued to be different. So after this date there
continued to be a small advantage, but it was minor.
What were the stipulations when West Germans or individuals from Western
countries crossed into East Berlin? By this, I mean could they only go
over for the day or could they stay a few days?
It seems to me that visitors coming in were restricted only to East
Berlin and needed a separate visa to move around the country, yes?