West Berlin Timeline of Events

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West Berlin

West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...

Timeline of Events

1948

4.1.1948

Cold War: Berlin Airlift – Military forces, under direction of the Russian-controlled government in East Germany, set-up a land blockade of West Berlin. * 1948

6.24.1948

Start of the Berlin Blockade: the Soviet Union makes overland travel between West Germany and West Berlin impossible.

6.26.1948

The Western allies begin an airlift to Berlin after the Soviet Union blockades West Berlin.

1962

8.17.1962

East German border guards kill 18-year-old Peter Fechter as he attempts to cross the Berlin Wall into West Berlin becoming one of the first victims of the wall.

11.24.1962

The West Berlin branch of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany forms a separate party, the Socialist Unity Party of West Berlin.

1967

6.2.1967

Protests in West Berlin against the arrival of the Shah of Iran turn into riots, during which Benno Ohnesorg is killed by a police officer. His death results in the founding of the terrorist group Movement 2 June.

1986

4.5.1986

Three people are killed in the bombing of the La Belle Discothèque in West Berlin, Germany.

4.14.1986

In retaliation for the April 5 bombing in West Berlin that killed two U.S. servicemen, U.S. president Ronald Reagan orders major bombing raids against Libya, killing 60 people.