East Berlin existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the eastern regions of Berlin and consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany. East Berlin was the de facto capital of East Germany. From 13 August 1961 until 9 November 1989, East Berlin was separated from West Berlin by the Berlin Wall. The official name that was used by the East German government changed over the course of years from "Greater Berlin" to "Democratic Berlin" to "Berlin, Capital of the GDR" or simply "Berlin." Within official usage, it had become more widespread since the 1970s to refer only to the Western part of the city with a different name ("Westberlin"), whilst calling the Eastern part simply "Berlin". (See also Naming conventions).