Post-war West Berlin.

Center of West Berlin

The Kurfürstendamm boulevard, which stretches for 3.5 km from the very center of West Berlin to the almost rural suburbs around Grunewald, is still the busiest shopping street where you can show yourself and see people. In contrast, the large Tiergarten park disposes of quiet relaxation. The former royal hunting ground is today a favorite walking place for Berliners.

Long ago, princes and kings went hunting in the Green Forest along Kudamm. It assumed its present appearance in the 1870s, when Bismarck ordered the rebuilding of this large Parisian-style street.

At its beginning, in the east, stands the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, built in 1895 in honor of the first emperor of a unified Germany. In 1943, during one of the bombings, the church was almost completely destroyed. A new bell tower and church were erected around the surviving skeleton of the old tower.

The Breitscheidplatz square around the church is one of the busiest places in western Berlin. But inside the octagonal church it is very quiet. Soft light breaks through the honeycomb of double stained glass, deep blue color merges with other paints. Above, the golden statue of Christ seems to hover over everything.

On the east side of the square is the 22-story European Center tower with the Mercedes emblem on top. Built in the early 1960s, it was the first in Berlin shopping center like American ones.

To the east of the square along Tauenzinstrasse is the Western Department Store (Wittenbergplatz), better known simply as KaDeWe. One of the largest stores in the world, it opened in 1906.

To the west of Breitscheidplatz on Fasanenstrasse, which runs south of Kur-fürstendamm, there are many galleries and luxury shops, while the area just north, around Savignyplatz, is full of restaurants, antiques and second-hand bookshops. In Kudamm-Karr, you can get acquainted with the centuries-old history of the German capital by visiting the Museum of the History of Berlin.

A busy train station northwest of Breitscheidplatz is a major railway junction. In the 1970s. its name became synonymous with neglect, drug trafficking and petty street crime, but was subsequently returned to a decent look. The nearby Zoological Garden is one of the best zoos in the world with about 15,000 animals and an aquarium.

The zoo continues to the Tiergarten, through which the 17 June ceremonial street runs. It was expanded in the 1930s. in order to connect the city center with the Olympic Stadium in the west. Together with other streets, it forms a traffic circle with the Triumphal Column in the center. It was originally installed opposite the Reichstag in honor of the German victory in the Franco-Prussian war of the 19th century. The column was transported here in 1939. One of the streets leads northeast to the Spree and Bellevue Castle in the neoclassical style, which Prince Ferdinand built in 1785 as hunting lodge... Today it is the official residence of the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Further east, on the banks of the Spree, the Palace of Congresses rises above the trees. His in 1955-1957. built by the Americans, however, not only as a premise for conventions, but also as a symbol of progressive architecture and partnership between the West and West Berlin. In 1980, its roof collapsed, but the reconstruction was successful. Today it is the House of Culture of the Nations of the World, where exhibitions are held.

The symbol of Berlin, the large Kaiser Wilhelm church, badly damaged during the war.

Charlottenburg

The elegant dome of Charlottenburg Castle stands proudly above the western side of the park and serves as a beacon for visitors to a range of first-class museums.

Charlottenburg is one of the symbols of Berlin. The palace was so damaged during the bombing of the Second World War that it could have been demolished. However, following the destruction of a castle in the center of East Berlin in 1950, the decision was made to restore Charlottenburg to its original royal grandeur.

The Charlottenburg area extends to the Tiergarten and the Brandenburg Gate, but at the end of the 17th century. it was a remote suburb. Therefore, Sophia Charlotte, wife of Elector Frederick, the future king of Prussia, chose this place to build a summer palace. She died in 1705 at the age of 37, and Frederick named the residence Charlottenburg in memory of her.

The tone of the entire palace is set by its royal court, where there is a splendid equestrian statue of the great Elector Friedrich Wilhelm (1640-1688). The castle's long façade hides striking interiors - a magnificent chapel with a royal box, a glittering Porcelain Cabinet and a Golden Gallery with exquisite Rococo décor. Only the almost impeccable condition of some of the rooms will remind you that many of them were not just restored, but rebuilt. Among the paintings are the masterpieces of one of the favorite painters of Frederick the Great, the French artist Francois Watteau.

Charlottenburg's large green parks are one of Berliners' favorite holiday destinations. Like the castle itself, they bear witness to the evolution of fashion: from the regular, symmetrical Baroque gardens adjacent to the castle, to the romantic English-style landscapes, which grow more and more as you approach the banks of the Spree. The main attractions of the park are the Mausoleum with the tombs of Queen Louise and her spouse Frederick Wilhelm III and Belvedere, a villa in italian style designed by the Prussian architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel.

West Berlin museums

Located near the station, the Zoological Gardens Museum of Photography includes a collection of works by Helmut Newton and the art library of the Berlin Museum. Newton - Jewish by birth - fled and immigrated to Australia in 1938, but never forgot Berlin, which was his home.

The expansive gallery at the top of the museum contains a permanent exhibition of contemporary photographers and Newton himself (such as the controversial Big Nudes), while downstairs there is a temporary exhibition of personal works of young artists.

East Berlin

While some areas seem to have changed a lot since the abolition of the GDR, others have retained some of the atmosphere of that time. Among them is the Prenzpauer Berg district of east Berlin - formerly one of the poorest districts in the capital, now it has become a fashionable place.

In the multicultural district of Kreuzberg, home to a large Turkish diaspora, you can always plunge into an alternative lifestyle.

To the east is the Friedrichshain district, which bears the title of a lively area with an active nightlife.

Prenzlauer Berg: Appeared in the XIX century. a suburb of east Berlin, the area became popular with the working class in the 20th century. Launched in the days of the GDR, this area became a place where intellectuals and artists settled. Since then, much has been redone, property prices have skyrocketed, and bohemians have been crowded out by a new generation of successful entrepreneurs. The tastes of new residents are fully satisfied by the numerous shops, bars, restaurants and cafes on the Kastanienallee and Kollwitzplatz.

Near the Eberswalder Strasse underground station there is Cultural brewery is an excellent example of the reuse of a city building that was erected in 1889.

This dazzling red and yellow brick complex was the most impressive Berlin brewery, operating until 1967. The former brewery is now Entertainment Center with clubs, bars, cinema and shops.

Charming Kollwitzplatz(named after the famous artist Kete Kollwitz) is the venue for a bustling Sunday market. Many Jews lived in the area, as hinted at by the Rikeshtrasse Synagogue. A beautifully restored red-brick synagogue from 1904, one of only two synagogues that survived the days of German Nazism and the destruction of the war. From the entrance to the synagogue, you can see the water tower, also known as Tolstoy Herman, which Hitler's troops turned into a prison for local Jews. Now there are apartments here.

Kreuzberg: The southern Spree region of Kreuzberg is a bustling, fun-loving place beloved by students and hippies, although the area is now becoming popular with some of the careerists who have moved here. A special atmosphere always reigns around the colorful Turkish market Mayba-khufer.

The restoration of Charlottenburg Castle after the Second World War returned it to its former greatness.

The Kreuzberg district is also home to two impressive exhibitions - the Jewish Museum, designed by Polish-American architect Daniel Libeskind. Stretched out in an underground passage from the neighboring former 18th century courthouse. the museum was built in the 1990s. There is an exposition dedicated to the history of Jewry in Germany. In a schematic plan, the shape of the museum is partly made in the shape of the Star of David. The central axis of the exhibition runs through the entire exposition and is dedicated to the terrible events of the destruction of the European Jewish society.

On the roof of the German Technical Museum hoisted a huge, hanging C-47 cargo plane, an abundance of interactive exhibitions, including a large number of boats and aircraft, will please any lover of science.

The real stars of the exhibition are the old locomotive and rolling stock located in the former locomotive depot.

Friedrichshain: Somewhat east of Berlin is the suburb of Friedrichshain, which in the 1950s. was divided by the Soviet architectural plan intricate Karl-Marx-Allee. The area around Boxagener Square is the focal point of nightlife.

In Prenzlauer Berg, tourists will find many charming shops and cafes.

Sprawling People's Park Friedrichshain is filled with historical symbolism. Inventive builders used World War II cobblestones to create two hills above the bomb shelters. One of the hills Bunker-Gora is 78 m high. At the same time, the Fountain of Fairy Tales goes directly to the graceful colonnade in the northwestern part of the park, which has remained unchanged.

West Berlin (English West Berlin, French Berlin-Ouest, German West-Berlin) - public education, which existed from 1949 to 1990 in the western part of the city of Berlin; an enclave surrounded by the territory of the German Democratic Republic. As a state entity, West Berlin emerged after World War II and included the territories of the American, French and British sectors of the occupation of Berlin.

After the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany, its capital Berlin was divided between the countries anti-Hitler coalition into four occupation zones. Eastern zone occupied by Soviet troops, in 1949 became the capital of the German Democratic Republic. Until 1961, the border between western and eastern Berlin was open. The dividing line with a length of 44.75 km (the total length of the border between West Berlin and the GDR was 164 km) ran right through the streets and houses, the Spree River, and canals. 81 street checkpoints, 13 subway and city crossings were officially in operation. railroad... Every day from 300 to 500 thousand people crossed the border between both parts of the city. A Berliner could live in the eastern part of the city and work in the western part and vice versa.

West Berlin was not part of the Federal Republic of Germany. The supreme power in the city was a tripartite (American-British-French) military commandant's office. Legislative power was exercised by the Chamber of Deputies (parliament), elected by the population for four years, the executive power was exercised by the Berlin Senate (government), headed by the burgomaster. However, West Berlin used the FRG mark as its currency, there was a land and air corridor connecting West Berlin and the FRG.

In 1958, the GDR authorities announced their claims to sovereignty over West Berlin on the grounds that it was "on the territory of the GDR." This claim has been denied Western countries led by the United States, which announced that they would do their utmost to defend the "freedom of West Berlin." In the late 1950s, the open border between western and eastern Berlin became a window through which citizens of the GDR could freely travel to the West. In order to stop the mass emigration in August 1961, the GDR authorities began building a guarded wall that physically separated West Berlin from the GDR. The Berlin Wall has become a symbol cold war, division of humanity into two opposite social camps.

With the conclusion of the Quadripartite Agreement on West Berlin on September 3, 1971, its legal status got international recognition... The occupation regime remained in West Berlin, its legal system retained the specifics determined by the allied legislation. On September 12, 1990, an agreement was signed in Moscow "two plus four" (GDR and FRG, and the USSR, USA, Great Britain, France), which marked the beginning of the unification of Germany. According to its provisions, West Berlin as a public entity ceased to exist at midnight CET from October 2 to 3, 1990. Since that time, the occupation of West Berlin by the troops of the USA, Great Britain, and France has officially ended; the western and eastern parts of Berlin merged into one city. Subsequently, the united Berlin became the capital of the united Germany.

sectors of the occupation of Berlin. West Berlin was an enclave surrounded on all sides by the territory of the GDR, which de facto included East Berlin, the capital of the GDR (see Berlin's four-sided status).

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✪ Moments of the XX century 1948 - Blockade and aid to Berlin

✪ Rudolf Hess \ Rudolf.Gess. 2006.

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Political status

The status of West Berlin was determined by the totality of the quadrilateral treaties of the USSR, Great Britain, the USA and France (see the Quadripartite Agreement on Berlin).

The Berlin Constitution, adopted on September 1, 1950, in Article 1 proclaimed Berlin (namely, the whole of Berlin within the borders of Greater Berlin, and not West Berlin - see also Article 4) the state of the Federal Republic of Germany and declared binding on the territory of Berlin the provisions of the Constitution and laws Germany. Article 23 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany, as amended, in effect until 1990, also named Greater Berlin in the list of German states. This status, however, was not recognized by the occupying powers. In this regard, the Berlin constitution had a special article 87, which stipulated that the provisions of article 1 were temporarily inactive and would enter into force immediately upon the elimination of existing restrictions, and before that time the extension of the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany to Berlin did not occur automatically, but through ratification by members Berlin Parliament. For this purpose, all the laws adopted in the FRG during these years contained the so-called "Berlin clause". Despite the non-recognition of West Berlin's belonging to the FRG by the occupying powers, the Constitutional Court of the FRG in 1966 confirmed that "the fundamental law of the FRG also applies on the territory of Berlin" and that "Berlin, despite the restrictions of the occupation authorities, is the land of the Federal Republic of Germany."

Representatives of West Berlin had only consultative status without the right to vote in the Bundestag of the FRG, although they had full voting rights in the Federal Assembly of the FRG. The citizens of West Berlin were also exempted from military duty, and the armed forces of West Berlin were the occupying forces of France, Great Britain and the United States. Since 1968, when moving between the Federal Republic of Germany and West Berlin through ground and air corridors, there has been passport control. Nevertheless, West Berlin used the German mark of the Federal Republic of Germany as its currency, issued by the Bank of German Lands, subordinate to the occupation authorities until 1951, and then to the Federal Ministry of Finance of the Federal Republic of Germany. West Berlin did not have its own embassies, the interests of West Berlin in foreign countries were represented by the embassies of the Federal Republic of Germany, West Berlin was also represented at the UN by a representative of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Citizens of West Berlin had special identity cards ( Berliner behelfsmäßige Personalausweis), outwardly not similar to the pastors of the Federal Republic of Germany, which indicated: “The owner of this document is a German citizen ”without mentioning the state. However, due to the fact that the FRG considered itself the legal successor of the German Empire, and therefore did not have an independent "citizenship of the FRG" (unlike the GDR, where GDR citizenship was introduced in 1961) and continued to use the designation "German citizenship", all persons who had German citizenship by state in 1913, as well as their descendants, including citizens of the GDR and Berlin, continued to be considered German citizens. Therefore, the office of the Ministry of the Interior of the Federal Republic of Germany, located in West Berlin, issued to the residents of West Berlin the usual passports of the Federal Republic of Germany, which, however, were not recognized by the countries of the "Eastern Bloc".

Claiming to the entire territory of Berlin, the authorities of West Berlin bore the corresponding names. Legislature was carried out by the Parliament of Berlin, elected by the population for four years, executive - by the Senate of Berlin, headed by the ruling burgomaster. Court of Appeal - Chamber Court ( Kammergericht), court of first instance - Berlin Regional Court ( Landgericht Berlin), the lowest level of the judicial system - district courts ( Amtsgericht), the court of appeal of administrative justice - the Supreme Administrative Court of Berlin ( Bundesverwaltungsgericht Berlin), the courts of first instance of administrative justice - the administrative court of Berlin ( Verwaltungsgericht Berlin), prosecutorial oversight bodies - the Attorney General of Berlin ( Generalstaatsanwalt von Berlin) and the prosecutor's office of land courts. The territory of West Berlin was divided into urban districts ( Stadtbezirk), representative bodies of urban districts - district meetings of commissioners ( Bezirksverordnetenversammlung), executive bodies - district offices ( Bezirksamt), consisting of the burgomaster ( Bürgermeister) and members of the district administration. Power organization - Berlin Police Department ( Polizeipräsident in Berlin). The supreme power in the city was exercised by the Inter-Allied Commandant's Office.

Emergence

The capital of Germany was occupied by Soviet troops during the Berlin offensive by May 2, 1945. By agreement of the allies, Berlin was divided into three (from July 26 into four, including the French) occupation zones. The eastern zone, occupied by Soviet troops, later became the capital of the German Democratic Republic. In the three western zones, control was exercised occupation authorities USA, UK and France.

In 1948, disagreements arose between the USSR and the Western allies, which resulted in a full-scale crisis, the immediate reason for which was the monetary reform in Trizonia - the unification of the occupation zones of the USA, Great Britain and France.

Supply and life

West Berlin was surrounded on all sides by the state border of the GDR and was supplied from Germany, the USA, Great Britain and France. The city was supplied with water, air, automobile and by rail... For these purposes, there were special transport corridors through the territory of the GDR, controlled by the border guards of the National People's Army of the GDR. There are several episodes in the history of the city when there was a threat of a blockade of West Berlin. The first time the so-called Berlin Crisis of 1948-49 erupted, the second time, tensions arose during the construction of the Berlin Wall and the Berlin Crisis of 1961. West Berlin had several power plants, hospitals, schools, universities, stadiums, airports. The issue with cemeteries was also resolved. Since the territory of West Berlin was limited and there was no place for new burials, crematoria worked in the city, and columbariums were opened in the existing cemeteries. Public transport included the tram system (closed in 1967), city bus, city train and metro. After the construction of the Berlin Wall most of lines of the Berlin underground remained in West Berlin, and the stations of the city train, on the contrary, in the East.

With the conclusion of the quadripartite agreement on West Berlin in 1971, the city's position improved significantly. The FRG represented his interests in the international arena. On the border with the GDR, modern checkpoints were erected, which made it possible to pass more cargo and passengers, road infrastructure for foreigners who visited the city through the territory of the GDR by road. Bonn allocated significant funds for the maintenance of roads in the GDR, which served as transit corridors from the FRG to West Berlin. The number of tourists visiting the city has increased significantly. West Berlin began to buy electricity from the GDR.

In the light of my recent note about "the division of Ukraine into two states", I dug up information about West Berlin and the wall that at one time divided not only the city but also Europe and the whole world

One of the main goals of Soviet diplomacy in the 1940s and 1960s was to stabilize the situation in Europe; the German problem had to be solved. The lack of legal recognition of the GDR had serious consequences for the USSR and its allies, since it was possible to constantly challenge the legality of the very existence of the second German state.

MEMORIES OF A SOVIET JOURNALIST

West Berlin was a unique city. Its history is not long. In May 1945, the former capital of Germany - the so-called. Greater Berlin - in accordance with inter-allied agreements, was divided into four sectors of occupation, each of which hosted garrisons of troops from one of the four victorious powers - the USSR, the USA, Great Britain and France. In 1949, after the formation of the FRG and the GDR, the authorities of the latter declared the eastern part of the city their capital, where they settled Soviet troops.

Gateway to the West

And the western sectors remained under the occupation regime of our former allies. For many years this city remained constant source tensions in international relations. As soon as he was not called! This is both "a thorn in the body of the GDR" and "the cheapest atomic bomb", And" front-line city ". In principle, as eyewitnesses of those events told me, it was so. Remember at least 1961, when at the Friedrichstrasse checkpoint in the city center all night long, at a distance of two hundred meters from each other, American and Soviet tanks stood on alert. You can imagine what would have happened if someone's nerves had failed! And how much has been written about the activities of foreign intelligence services, which simply swarmed in such a small territory, about digging underground, the so-called. "Mole" tunnels for the installation of eavesdropping systems in them!

And only with the signing on September 3, 1971 by the representatives of the USSR, the USA, Great Britain and France of the Quadripartite Agreement on West Berlin, many problems around this city were settled, and thus the way was opened for the normal development of relations between East and West.

West Berlin, despite the presence of allied troops there, had its own constitution, coat of arms, flag, anthem, and authorities. Soviet Union received the right to open in this city a Consulate General, a Bureau of Foreign Trade Associations, a representative office of Aeroflot, Intourist, as well as an APN Bureau and a TASS bureau.

Our office was located on a quiet street of Ansbacherstrasse, which connected Kurfürstenstrasse with Wittenbergplatz, from where the central street of West Berlin, Kurfürsten Damm, or Kudamm, as West Berliners called it, began. A stone's throw from us was the city center with the famous dilapidated Gedekhtniskirche, reminiscent of the destruction of the last war, the largest department store Western Europe- KaDeVe (Kaufhaus des Westens) and the high-rise building "Europe-Center", on the roof of which the star "Mercedes-Benz" was slowly revolving.

For us - Soviet citizens, especially those who came to the West for the first time - there was a lot of unusual things in the life of this "island". Including the fact that, in accordance with the Quadripartite Agreement on West Berlin, the APN and TASS Bureau employees did not have the right to constantly be in the city, and, therefore, we had to leave West Berlin until 24.00 and go to the capital of the GDR for the night - Berlin, where are we at cozy apartments our families were looking forward to Leninplatz. Every morning, having brought the kids to the embassy school, I drove my car to work in the bureau. Usually used checkpoint Charlie, which was in the zone of American control. In general, the everyday crossing of the border of the most "developed socialism" and very developed capitalism was very interesting. And not only from the point of view of comparing the achievements of this or that formation. At first, naturally, we drove into the GDR border zone: tall metal gate, matched concrete wall, Checkpoints with barriers, border guards and customs officers, watchtowers, well-trained dogs of the corresponding breed. In short, a real state border with all its inherent attributes, the passage of which immediately set people up in a serious mood. I don’t know how the GDR servicemen treated others, but I must admit that I never had any problems with them: they were always friendly, with a smile and a non-binding pleasant conversation about anything, like life , how are you? And once, when I "went on a spree" well after midnight (at work, of course) with my friend and colleague - the editor-in-chief of one of the West Berlin newspapers - I thought, that's it, it's time to collect things and zurck nach Hause. Firstly, he violated the Quadripartite Agreement, secondly, the iron gates to the GDR at night were tightly closed and, thirdly, even if the border guards deign to open them for me personally, they will certainly report the incident to the Soviet ambassador. I drove up to the gate and knocked. Silence. He began to drum. Oddly enough, the gate began to open slowly. An officer came up, accompanied by submachine gunners, checked the "suspicious" person. And what do you think? They let me in! And they did not report! In a word, everything worked out. And the next morning, a West Berlin newspaper published an article by a Soviet scientist, which was very beneficial for our country. So, sometimes, at the risk of a career, it was necessary to push the materials of the APN.

And on the other side of the border we were met by the Americans with the British and French (for some reason it was here that there was a joint checkpoint of the allies) and West Berlin police and customs officers. There was little that resembled a border: no barriers, neat, unobtrusive buildings for the police and customs, normal four-five-story residential buildings with shops and cafes and even a small museum dedicated to the history of defectors from the GDR to West Berlin and the Federal Republic of Germany. And, of course, three small-sized Allied booths with national flags always raised, dividing the street into two carriageways. In general, people who arrived from the East were greeted by a pleasant color postcard, if a military jeep with a crew of armed American soldiers, one of which always stood up to its full height near the uncovered machine gun, directed towards the GDR. They especially loved to show off like that, and maybe even to catch up with fear on the entering black American guys. A very stern and unkind look, and the uncovered machine gun spoiled the mood a little. But the friendly greetings of "Guten Morgen" from the West Berlin police and customs officers, who already knew me by sight, immediately returned the mood to the "peaceful track".

Showcase of capitalism

West Berlin was indeed a real "showcase of the capitalist world": a large industrial center with developed trade, a superbly streamlined banking system, and a service sector. In terms of the aggregate gross product, the city could be compared with such developed countries like Finland, Denmark, Portugal or Turkey. About 180 research centers were concentrated in West Berlin, 35 museums and 18 theaters worked there. The symphony orchestra of the West Berlin Philharmonic under the direction of Herbert von Karajan enjoyed world fame. It was the venue for international fairs, exhibitions and all kinds of congresses.

I remember well my first visit to West Berlin, when my colleague, the bureau correspondent I was replacing, brought me there. He easily found his bearings in this huge city, calmly, without any hassle, drove the car among the stream of Mercedes and Volkswagens rushing somewhere, at the same time he managed to tell me about the most famous historical places, monuments and made me remember the routes to the bureaus and West Berlin publishing houses, with which I had to work. I confess that after the gloomy and unkempt Moscow in those days, with huge queues of nervous fellow citizens for everything that was thrown onto the shelves, it seemed to me that I was traveling in paradise. Everything glitters around, in the luxurious showcases of no less luxurious shops that simply did not end along the entire route, an abundance of everything that could only dream of Soviet man... And no queues for you! And people! They sit in kneipps (cozy pubs), sip aromatic coffee in open cafes. Some are all calm, kind, smiling, as if everyone is on vacation. In this regard, much later, I asked my German colleague - why is it so? And he answered with one simple phrase - because they are well fed! And that's all. Didn't add anything else. It looks like it is. In general, from what I saw on the first day my head was spinning. But over time, the euphoric state passed, although I admit that I fell in love with this city.

And the "showcase of the capitalist world" naturally had other features such as unemployment, crime, drug addiction, prostitution, and the problem of the homeless. By the way, in the Andropov-Chernenkovo ​​time, that is, in the first years of my business trip, these were the main topics of our publications. I must admit that most of my Berlin colleagues on business trips, in general, did not even try to resist our ideological dogmas. To some extent, we were all confident in the correctness of Moscow's assessments: the showcase in the West is really beautiful, but there are always problems behind it. And only after some time did we begin to understand that in the “decaying” West there is still more positive than negative, that the average resident there in legally he feels much more confident and lives much better than the average Soviet citizen. Unemployment benefits in those days allowed a person to comfortably hold out for some time (and the state during this period offered him at least three times a new workplace), well-groomed old men and women easily allowed themselves to sit in a cafe with a cup of coffee or a glass of liquor, go to Spain or the Canary Islands, a simple housemaster (house manager and plumber in one person) in the evenings simply sat in a knipe at the same table with a deputy local senate.

In general, the first years I wrote more about "poverty" than about "brilliance" and, of course, about the struggle for peace of certain progressive public figures, political parties, anti-war movements, that young neo-Nazism is raising its head in West Berlin, and the broad masses of progressive-minded youth, somewhere akin to today's anti-globalists, organize demonstrations and smash those beautiful windows of shops and offices with stones stored in their bosoms. And by the way, it was not so easy to prepare good-quality and interesting material, say, about the same homeless person. Capitalism also imbued Westerners with its ideology - the homeless demanded a reward for interviews, that is, "worked" according to the principle "commodity - money - commodity." On the advice of experienced journalists, I bought a Soviet export bottle of wheat vodka and with this present I went to the central station “Zoobahnhof”, where for this product it was easy to “shoot” a homeless person, and not only him. Settled up near a large cardboard box- homeless housing, - and a heart-to-heart conversation began. And among them there were very interesting people - both former actors, and scientists, and ordinary workers. No, there was something to write about: about the cat, which the old woman, without noticing, washed in the washing machine, and she remained alive and well, and about the famous allied prison in Spandau, where last years Hitler's associate Rudolf Hess spent his life. We paid a lot of attention to the political elite of the FRG, for which West Berlin was a kind of "place of pilgrimage". The distinguished guests from Bonn, I think, deliberately "forgot" the pivotal provision of the Quadripartite Agreement: "The western sectors of Berlin are not part of The FRG will not be governed by it in the future ”and held their federal party congresses and election campaigns here. For this they "got" from our journalistic corps, but from them - like water off a duck's back. In short, the West and the East read the same international document in a way that was beneficial to the parties. But I must admit that we never missed the chance to personally meet and communicate with such well-known and respected politicians as Willy Brandt, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Count Otto von Lambsdorff, Martin Bangemann, Gunther Rexrodt.

The ice has broken

It was in this city that I happened to work from 1984 to 1989. It was a very interesting time. Before my eyes, political and economic ties between Moscow and West Berlin were gradually strengthening. Not without the help of the APN, I mean the organization of information support, the first visit to Moscow of the ruling burgomaster of West Berlin, Social Democrat Walter Momper, was made. Scientific and cultural cooperation was actively expanding. There was a lot of work, and therefore, we acquired acquaintances and friends. And not only by the Germans! Italians, Turks, Iranians, Greeks - they all visited our bureau, and in terms of information, we actively cooperated with them. But first of all, of course, we worked with our West Berlin colleagues.

And in the late 1980s, we began to write openly about the rapprochement of the positions of Moscow and Bonn on many issues of international life and even about possible options for the future structure of Germany! Now Westerners came to us asking for interviews.

On the whole, perestroika in the USSR was received in West Berlin society with interest and certain hopes. But the authorities of the GDR, especially its political leadership, were rather wary of new trends in our country. And as a consequence of this, the press of our friendly country paid very little attention to what was happening in the Union. Many citizens of the GDR were forced to look for additional sources of information. And, oddly enough, at a certain period of time, the illustrated digest of the APN "Sputnik" became such a source. I don’t know, maybe due to some secret agreement, but Moscow stopped sending this digest to the APN bureau in the GDR. And to us, in West Berlin, "Sputnik", although in smaller quantities, continued to arrive. Citizens of the German Democratic Republic, mainly representatives of the intelligentsia, who came to West Berlin on duty, often visited our bureau. To me personally, our bureau at that time began to resemble a hut-reading room. Actually, the doors were open to everyone, but with special joy we greeted our Russians who came to West Berlin on various missions. I remember that Alexander Lazarev and Svetlana Nemolyaeva came in to us, just like that, as they say - by the light. The press conferences with the participation of Svyatoslav Fyodorov and Alexander Bovin, held within the walls of the bureau, were a real pandemonium. Yulian Semyonov came to work on his next book and, with the permission of the local police, rummaged through its archives for ten days. And in free time came to us. One day, before leaving, he ran in to say goodbye and accidentally left his glasses against the sun on my table. I called him, but he, a kind-hearted man, said: "Okay, Yegorka, (for some reason he liked to call me that), let them remain in your memory." I still keep them.

The Greek singer Mikis Theodorakis told me two years before the fall of the Berlin Wall that the unification of Germany was inevitable, that the German nation would be united again. And it happened, but, unfortunately, without me, since my business trip ended. I didn’t last two months to witness this historical event.

On the political map the world did not become either West Berlin or the GDR. A new page has begun in the history of Germany.

West Berlin is a political entity with a special international legal status, located within the territory of the German Democratic Republic. It is under the occupation regime of 3 Western powers. Territory - 480 sq. km. Population - 1.9 million (1979), of which approx. 190 thousand - foreigners.

After the end of the Second World War, the Western occupation authorities set out to split Berlin and draw its western sectors (American, British and French) into the economic and political system West Germany. For long period West Berlin was assigned a special role in the struggle against the GDR and other socialist countries. The revenge-seeking and militarist circles of the FRG, with the support of other NATO member countries, more than once provoked conflicts in West Berlin, leading to an aggravation of the international situation. In August 1961, the GDR government took measures to strengthen security and control on the border with West Berlin, introducing a border regime on it. As a result of the quadripartite agreement on West Berlin concluded in the fall of 1971 by the governments of the USSR, the USA, Great Britain and France (entered into force on 3 June 1972), as well as agreements and agreements on a number of issues between the governments of the GDR, FRG and the Senate of West Berlin in the tension that had arisen around the city more than once was relieved. The quadripartite agreement does not prevent the maintenance of normal ties between the FRG and the western sectors of Berlin. It states that the ties "will be maintained and developed, bearing in mind that these sectors are still not a constituent part of the Federal Republic of Germany and will not be governed by it in the future."

The reactionary forces of the FRG, with the connivance of the Western powers, nevertheless, are not abandoning their attempts to distort the four-sided agreement, to integrate West Berlin into the FRG system.

In accordance with the Constitution of West Berlin in 1950, the highest authority is the Chamber of Deputies. Executive power is exercised by the Senate, headed by the ruling burgomaster (D. Stobbe - Social democratic party). The authorities of West Berlin are under the control of the occupation authorities in their actions.

Political parties: Social Democratic Party (ruling), Christian Democratic Union, Free Democratic Party. These parties consider themselves the land organizations of the respective parties of the FRG.

The Socialist Unified Party (SEP) of West Berlin is the Marxist-Leninist party of West Berlin workers. Party chairman - H. Schmitt. The central organ is the newspaper "Di Warhite", the theoretical organ is the magazine "Consequent".

The German Trade Union Association operates in West Berlin. Socialist Youth Union named after K. Liebknecht, Democratic Women's Union, West Berlin Society for German-Soviet Friendship.

West Berlin is a big industrial. center (more than 2 thousand enterprises). The value of the gross product produced in West Berlin in 1979 was St. 46 billion marks. Leading industries: electronics, instrument making, mechanical engineering. The construction, chemical, food and sewing industries are well developed. More than 86% prom. products are exported. Due to the one-sided orientation towards the FRG (about 80% of foreign trade. Turnover falls on the FRG), the economy of West Berlin is experiencing significant difficulties and is sensitive to market fluctuations. It exists at the expense of constant subsidies and financial benefits received from the Federal Republic of Germany (in 1979, about 53% of the city budget was subsidized by the Federal Republic of Germany). Trade turnover with the USSR increased in 1978 to 162.6 million rubles, i.e., in comparison with 1970, it increased 6.5 times. Economic ties with the USSR are supported by 100 West Berlin firms.

The monetary unit is the FRG mark.

The most acute social problems in 1979 continued to be unemployment (33 thousand unemployed, or 4.1% of all persons employed), rising prices (on average - 4.1%), high rent (up to 25% of wages). ), high level crime and drug addiction.

Sources:

1. Countries of the World: A Brief Political Economy. reference book.-M .: Politizdat, 1980, 497 p.
2. Small atlas of the world / senior ed. N.M. Terekhov-M .: GUGK, 1980, 147 p.