West Germany

West Germany is the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its formation in May, 1949 to German reunification on October 3rd, 1990. This period, during which Germany and Berlin were divided, ended when communist East Germany was dissolved and its five states joined the eleven states of the Federal Republic of Germany. The enlarged Federal Republic of Germany with sixteen states (known simply as "Germany") is thus the continuation of the pre-1990 Federal Republic of Germany, and not its successor.