<P> West Berlin was 100 miles ( 161 kilometres ) east and north of the Inner German border and only accessible by land from West Germany by narrow rail and highway corridors . It consisted of the American , British , and French occupation sectors established in 1945 . It was , however , a de facto part of West Germany . It had a special and unique legal status because its administration was formally conducted by the Western Allies . At the same time , East Berlin , de jure occupied and administered by the Soviet Union , was the de facto capital of East Germany . The Berlin Wall , built in 1961 , physically separated West Berlin from its East Berlin and East German surroundings until it fell in 1989 . </P>
<P> West Berlin was 100 miles ( 161 kilometres ) east and north of the Inner German border and only accessible by land from West Germany by narrow rail and highway corridors . It consisted of the American , British , and French occupation sectors established in 1945 . It was , however , a de facto part of West Germany . It had a special and unique legal status because its administration was formally conducted by the Western Allies . At the same time , East Berlin , de jure occupied and administered by the Soviet Union , was the de facto capital of East Germany . The Berlin Wall , built in 1961 , physically separated West Berlin from its East Berlin and East German surroundings until it fell in 1989 . </P>
when the soviet union sealed off the city of berlin
when the soviet union sealed off the city of berlin
1961
1961