Western Germany
The term West Germany can be understood both geographically and politically, but is difficult to define in the former. He is now defined particularly by the former inner- German border that divided Germany into a Western and an East German state.
Political point of view
Politically, the term West Germany was only used from 1945, namely for the area of the three Western zones ( ie excluding West Berlin), ie the U.S., British and French occupation zone (without the Saarland), then the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1990th federal capital was Bonn, the largest cities were West Berlin and Hamburg. Especially abroad called the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1990, the simplicity often than West Germany, or you used the term as a self-designation abroad, such as Made in West Germany or Made in Western Germany.
In accordance with Article 2, paragraph 1 of the Constitution of Berlin was before 1990 a state of the Federal Republic of Germany; however, this article could not be effective, since it was restored by the Allies in Berlin relevant. Thus, it had a close bond, but was not a part of West Germany within the meaning of the borders of the Federal Republic before 1990. From the perspective of the GDR not part of the Federal Republic of Germany was the so- called " self-employed political unity West Berlin." Both the West Berlin House of Representatives and the German Bundestag, however, always stressed the close ties of Berlin ( West) to the Federal Republic.
In this sense, the states of Schleswig- Holstein, Hamburg, Bremen and Lower Saxony, North Rhine -Westphalia, Hesse, Rhineland -Palatinate, Saarland and Baden- Württemberg and Bavaria are meant in their political boundaries with "West Germany ". Baden, Württemberg -Baden and Württemberg -Hohenzollern merged in 1952 to the State of Baden- Wuerttemberg. 1957 came the Saar ( 1945-1947 French Saar protectorate, then from 1947 to 1956 autonomous, state-like entity sui generis ) of the Federal Republic of Germany at.
The GDR 1990 resolved in the course of the Unification Treaty and by the German reunification spoke to the end of the 1960s, often from West Germany, because until then the GDR still emanated from one to uniting the whole of Germany. Later avoided in the official language in the GDR, the term " West Germany " as a circumvention of the official name of the Federal Republic of Germany. As an interim solution could also "West German Federal Republic " or just " German Federal Republic " hear, next to the most widely used, but not official abbreviation " BRD ".
In today's parlance, West Germany is usually synonymous with the so-called old federal states. At the same time original, geographically closely circumscribed meaning ( see below) or West German Allgemeine Zeitung in the regional consciousness was preserved by terms such as West German broadcasting; a partially parallel phenomenon has been observed since the reunification in the case of central Germany.
Geographical classification
Geographically, West Germany, especially the part Rhineland North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse, Rhineland -Palatinate and Saarland. In the strict sense of the North Rhine-Westphalia Rhineland part can also only be referred to as "West Germany ", exact boundaries, whether natural or political- historical, are rarely drawn. On the basis of the unity of the West Central German dialects (see below) was called before the Cold War, particularly the larger Rhineland ( from the Ruhr area to the Eifel) especially with respect to the Rhenish -Westphalian industrial area "West Germany ".
Linguistic classification
Linguistically form the West Central German dialects a region that distinguish themselves from the other German dialects. These values were significantly influenced by the geographical separation of the population, compared to the hilly West Germany to the north, the Lower Rhine, the Sauerland and the Munsterland form, as well as the Rothaargebirge, to East and from the East Middle German dialects by the Hohe Meissner and the Rhön, the Spessart the Odenwald, south through the Hardt forest north of Karlsruhe and the border to France with remaining German-speaking Alsatians and Lorraine, the German- Luxembourg border with Luxembourgers and north to Belgium in the Ardennes with the local German population.
Social classification
The West German Radio in Cologne (WDR) goes back to the West German radio hour, founded in Münster 1924. He's since its re-establishment, responsible by cleavage of the North West German Radio, as a public service broadcaster exclusively for North Rhine -Westphalia, in the other countries send other broadcasters: The Southwest Broadcasting (SWR ) in Baden- Württemberg and Rhineland -Palatinate, Hessischer Rundfunk ( HR) and the Saarland Rundfunk ( SR ).
Even in sports, especially in football, was largely this classification. So after the introduction of the multi-pronged Regional were considered lower class under the newly founded Bundesliga 1963 exclusively assigned to teams from North Rhine -Westphalia the West Regional. The Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland clubs played in the Regionalliga West. The clubs were the Hesse Regional allocated to South.