Ost-Berlin

German

Alternative forms

• Ostberlin, Berlin (Ost)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɔst.bɛʁˌliːn/, /ˌɔst.bɛʁˈliːn/

• Audio:

  (file)

Proper noun

Ost-Berlin n (proper noun, genitive Ost-Berlins or (optionally with an article) Ost-Berlin)

1. East Berlin (the Soviet sector of Berlin between 1949 and 1990; the respective areas of reunified Berlin)

   Coordinate term: West-Berlin

Usage notes

• The hyphenated form Ost-Berlin was common in West Germany, though Berlin (Ost) was officially preferred (at least before 1970). The one-word spelling Ostberlin did and does occur, but was not historically preferred anywhere. In the GDR, East Berlin was simply called Berlin or, as its full title: Berlin, Hauptstadt der DDR (“Berlin, capital of the GDR”).