I.

Introduction

Berlin, city in north-east Germany, capital of a united Germany from 1871 to 1945 and again since 1990. It lies on the flatlands of the North German Plain at the confluence of several rivers and among many lakes. Its name probably comes from a word for island; its slight elevation made it a site for human settlement even in prehistoric times. The city has an area of approximately 889 sq km (343 sq mi).

After World War II Berlin, badly damaged during the war, was surrounded by the German Democratic Republic (GDR; also known as East Germany), and was partitioned into East Berlin and West Berlin. The divided city not only symbolized the collapse of the German Empire, of which it was the capital, but also became a focus of Cold War tensions between the Communist nations led by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the group of Western nations led by the United States. The Berlin Wall, a wall separating East and West Berlin and built by the East Germans in 1961, blocked free access in both directions until November 1989; some 100 people died attempting to cross from East to West Berlin. By the time Germany was unified in October 1990, much of the wall had been torn down. A few small segments remain as memorials. Population 3,387,800 (2005 estimate).

II.

Economy

Following the division of the city of Berlin in 1949, the economies of the two halves of the city were integrated into the economies of the two newly separated republics of Germany.

The economy of East Berlin was totally integrated with that of East Germany and also benefited from a steady stream of visitors from West Berlin and West Germany. East Berlin was the hub of East Germany's commercial, financial, and transport systems, and, although it comprised less than one-half of the old unified city, it was also a huge manufacturing centre. Among its main products were steel and rubber goods, electrical and transport equipment, chemicals, and processed food. The Spree River, which is connected by waterways with the Baltic Sea, widened in East Berlin to form a major inland harbour. An airport at Schönefeld, just south of the city, served both East and West Berlin.

Much of West Berlin's industrial capacity was destroyed in World War II, and its economy suffered again in 1948 and 1949, when the USSR blockaded the area in an attempt to drive out the Western powers. Beginning in the 1950s, however, West Berlin's economy was revitalized with much assistance from West Germany and from the United States, which provided support under the European Recovery Program (Marshall Plan). The city soon became an important manufacturing centre, producing electrical and electronic equipment and substantial quantities of machinery, metal, textiles, clothing, chemicals, printed materials, and processed food. West Berlin also developed as a centre for international finance, for research and science, and for the important West German film industry. It was linked to West Germany by motorways, canal systems, a railway, and airlines, which used Tegel, Tempelhof, and Gatow airports in West Berlin and Schönefeld airport in nearby East Germany.

With the destruction of the Berlin Wall the two halves of the city were once again physically integrated. Their economic integration became official in July 1990. East Berlin underwent the greatest economic changes with many formerly state-owned businesses succumbing to privatization.

While reunification (Die Wende, or “the change”) allowed many families and friends long separated by the Berlin Wall to reunite, it also brought numerous economic and social problems. Berlin now has to cope with housing shortages, strikes and demonstrations, unemployment, and increases in crime and right-wing violence against foreigners. Unification costs in Germany have led to increased taxes, reduced government subsidies, and cuts in social services. Many East Germans feel patronized and overwhelmed by the West. Complaining of second class treatment, they believe that reunification has failed to deliver the promised “good life”. Many West Germans believe they are sacrificing their standard of living to support East Germans.

III.

Places of Interest

The imposing Brandenburg Gate (1788-1791), inspired by the Propylaea of the Parthenon in Athens, is located at the western end of Unter den Linden, a famous boulevard in Berlin that extends east to Museum Island, in the Spree River; the Brandenburg Gate was closed to free access until December 1989. On or near the boulevard are the classical-style State Opera House (1743); the State Library (1774-1780); the Baroque Arsenal building (1695-1706; designed by Andreas Schlüter), now housing a historical museum; St Hedwig's Cathedral (1747-1773); the Gothic Church of St Nicholas (late 14th-early 15th century); the French Cathedral of the Platz der Akademie area, the heart of the French quarter in the 17th century; and the Wilhelm von Humboldt University (1809; formerly known as Friedrich-Wilhelm University), whose faculty has included 27 Nobel Prize winners and the philosopher G. W. F. Hegel. Well-known streets crossing Unter den Linden are the Friedrichstrasse and the Wilhelmstrasse, on which once stood the Reich Chancery of Adolf Hitler.

Berlin's most famous boulevard is the Kurfürstendamm, which is lined with fashionable hotels, restaurants, shops, and cinemas. At the boulevard's eastern end is a ruined tower, all that remains of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (1891-1895; destroyed during World War II), preserved as a memorial to the futility of war. Adjacent to the ruins are a polygonal church and its separate campanile (1959-1961). Branching from the Kurfürstendamm is the Tauentzienstrasse, a major shopping street and the site of the Europa Centre (1963-1965): a 22-storey complex of restaurants, shops, offices, cinemas, a planetarium, and an ice rink. To the north-east is the Tiergarten park, the largest of Berlin's nearly 50 parks, which extends about 3 km (2 mi) to the Brandenburg Gate. In the Tiergarten are the large, modern Congress Hall (1957); the Reichstag building (1884-1894), once the seat of the German parliament, which was burnt down in 1933 and again damaged at the end of World War II, but which has since been largely restored; the Berlin Zoological Garden, the largest and one of the oldest in the world; and an aquarium. Near the Tiergarten is the Kulturform complex, including the Museum of Applied Arts; the Bauhaus Archives and Museum, commemorating the Bauhaus school of architecture and design (1919-1933); the Musical Instrument Museum; the National Library; the New National Gallery (1968), designed by Mies van der Rohe, housing a collection of 20th-century art; and the striking Philharmonie Concert Hall (1963), an asymmetrical structure that serves as the home of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

South-east of the Tiergarten is Oranienburgerstrasse and environs, the heart of pre-war Berlin's Jewish district. Revitalization of the area has included restoration of the New Synagogue (1866), which was badly damaged on Kristallnacht and by bombing. Reopened in 1995, the synagogue is a centre for the study and preservation of Jewish culture. The area is also known for its art galleries, cafés, bars, and artists' studios. Berlin's oldest Jewish cemetery is nearby.

Museum Island (Museumsinsel), in eastern Berlin, is the site of five important museum buildings. The Pergamon Museum (1930) contains a fine collection of Graeco-Roman and Asian art. The Bode Museum (1898-1904), closed for renovation until 2005, displays ancient Egyptian and Byzantine art. The Old Museum (1830) shows antiquarian ancient art and manuscripts. The New Museum (1843–1859) was completely destroyed by air raids during World War II; it is currently being restored, with reopening scheduled for 2007. The Old National Gallery (1866-1876) houses 19th-century German painting and sculpture; rebuilt in 1950 and closed for restoration in 1997, it reopened to visitors in December 2001. Museum Island was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.

On the east bank of the Spree is Alexanderplatz, a large square with restaurants and stores; nearby are the Television Tower (365 m/1,197 ft) and the Red Town Hall. A statue facing the eastern entrance to the town hall commemorates the Trummerfrauen (Rubble Women), thousands of women of all ages who cleared up vast quantities of debris left in Berlin after World War II.

Forests and farmland cover nearly one-third of Berlin. In the south-western part of the city is the vast Grünewald forest which contains much woodland, and the large Wannsee lake formed by the Havel River, as well as a Renaissance-style hunting lodge (principally mid-16th century, with 18th-century additions), the large stadium built for the 1936 Olympic Games, and a broadcasting tower (1924-1926) measuring 138 m (453 ft) high. Other points of interest include Charlottenburg Palace (begun 1695), which houses the Museum of Decorative Arts, and the Neo-Classical Schloss Humboldt, home of the early 19th-century naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt.

In the Dahlem district of western Berlin, near the Grünewald, are a group of famous institutions, which include the Painting Gallery, with displays of European art from the 13th to the 16th century; the Ethnological Museum; the Sculpture Gallery; museums of Indian, Islamic, and East Asian art; and the German Folklore Museum. North of Dahlem is the Bridge Museum, displaying 20th-century German Expressionist art by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, and others. Other museums in the city are a museum of Greek and Roman antiquities; the Bröhan Museum, with Art Deco and Jugendstil collections displayed in period settings; and the Egyptian Museum, which contains the famous bust of Queen Nefertiti.

The Jewish Museum in Kreuzberg, founded to provide an insight into the life and history of Jewish people in Germany and, in particular, their suffering under the Nazis, opened to the public in September 2001. The building’s starkly distinctive concrete and zinc architecture in the shape of a broken star of David was designed by Daniel Libeskind.

Besides the Humboldt University, institutions of higher education include the Bruno Leuschner College of Economics (1950); the Hans Eisler College of Music (1950); the Free University of Berlin (1948), founded mainly by professors and students dissatisfied with conditions at the Humboldt University in East Berlin; and the Technical University of Berlin (1879). Additional cultural facilities include museums of Berlin and German history, the Comic Opera, and the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm, home of the Berliner Ensemble, noted for productions of plays by its founder Bertolt Brecht. Also located in Berlin are the German Film and Television Academy (1966) and the College of Arts (1975). Additional performing-arts facilities include the German Opera and the Hebbel Theater. The city is the site of an annual film festival and numerous other festivals. Berlin hosts the annual Grüne Woche, Germany's largest agricultural fair.

In Berlin's northern suburb of Sachsenhausen is the site of one of the first concentration camps in Germany, built in 1936; the site is now a memorial. After the war Soviet police used the camp to house war criminals, former Nazis and military officers, and opponents of the occupying regime. The camp was closed in March 1950. In 1992 arsonists set fire to the camp museum during a wave of attacks against foreign asylum-seekers.

Berlin has an efficient integrated transport system, with an underground railway, elevated train lines, buses, and trams.

IV.

History

Archaeologists have found traces of hunter-gatherer activity in the area dating from around 8000 bc. In the early part of the first century, Germanic tribes settled the region. By ad 500 they had moved south and west, leaving the area to the Wends. Frankish king Charlemagne conquered the lands in the 8th century, but by the 10th century Wendish tribes regained control.

In 1147 the Wends were vanquished by Conrad III, Duke Henry the Lion, and Count Albert the Bear; the latter became Margrave of Brandenburg. Germans reinforced the Wendish forts, and around 1230 founded western Berlin and Kölln, its twin settlement on an island in the Spree River (now Museum Island). The two towns prospered commercially and in 1359 joined the Hanseatic League. In 1415 Berlin-Köln, as part of the electorate of Brandenburg, came under the rule of the Hohenzollern dynasty. Both towns were then forced to withdraw from the league and were jointly made the capital of Brandenburg. They were formally merged into one town in 1709.

Under the Hohenzollerns, important leather, textile, and paper industries were developed in Berlin, and the city also became known for its potteries and breweries. From 1576, however, repeated outbreaks of plague reduced its population by many thousands. In 1600 Berlin had about 12,000 inhabitants.

During the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) Berlin at first benefited from Brandenburg's neutrality, but after 1631 it had to provide quarters for several Swedish armies, which also exacted heavy contributions. Starvation, new outbreaks of plague, and arson and robberies further impoverished the town and depopulated it by half.

A.

Prussian Capital

Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg from 1640 to 1688, quickly rehabilitated Berlin. He expanded Hohenzollern lands and encouraged immigration, welcoming 15,000 Huguenot refugees from France, 6,000 of whom settled in Berlin. The subsequent French influence on the city's life was significant. His son Frederick I—Elector of Brandenburg from 1688 to 1701 and the first king of Prussia from 1701 to 1713—transformed Brandenburg into the kingdom of Prussia, and adorned the new royal capital with elaborate public buildings. By the time of his death, Berlin's population had grown to 60,000.

Berlin continued to grow throughout the 18th century. Even the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) did not long delay the city's expansion; by 1786, the year Frederick II (Frederick the Great of Prussia from 1740 to 1786) died, Berlin's population had grown to 150,000.

After the Napoleonic Wars, during part of which Berlin was occupied by the French, the city became a lively cultural centre, with a world-famous university. It was a focus of the German Revolution of 1848 but suffered little disruption; it prospered during the subsequent political and economic ascendance of Prussia and by 1870 boasted a population of 800,000.

B.

European Metropolis

In 1871 Berlin became the capital of the unified German Empire. During the following decades the city grew into a major industrial centre, specializing in machinery, electrical goods, and textiles. Culturally Berlin won worldwide fame for its excellent theatres, concerts, and exhibitions; commercially, it benefited from a wide rail network converging on the city. Extensive construction of factories and commercial buildings attracted thousands of workers, most of them housed in large tracts of shoddy tenements.

After World War I Berlin's adjacent communities were incorporated into the city, increasing its population to 3,850,000. Berlin suffered economic setbacks during the troubled Weimar Republic, but the wealth of its theatrical, musical, and other cultural offerings remained unequalled.

During the restrictive Nazi years Berlin's cultural life suffered a grave decline. An ambitious building programme, by which German dictator Adolf Hitler aimed to make the city the world's foremost capital, was architecturally uninspired and never completed. In 1936 the city was host to the Olympic Games. During World War II large parts of Berlin were destroyed by air raids and, towards the end of the war, by artillery fire and street fighting. By 1945, about 50,000 pre-war buildings had been destroyed, many were in ruins, and the city contained some 75 million cu m (101,250,000 cu yd) of rubble. Berlin's population was 2.8 million, down from 4.4 million before the war.

C.

Divided City

When Germany was divided into American, Soviet, British, and French occupation zones after World War II, Berlin, although located within the Soviet Zone, became a separate unit. The arrangement symbolized the city's continuing role as the capital of a Germany that was still considered one country. In 1948, however, soon after the breakup of the four-power administration of the former country of Germany, the joint administration of Berlin also came to an end. Claiming that Berlin had lost its status as the capital of a united Germany and should therefore be incorporated into the Soviet Zone, the USSR tried to force the Western powers out of their respective sectors of the city by blockading the land routes to that part of Berlin. The attempt was foiled with the massive, 11-month-long Berlin Airlift, but the city remained divided. Soviet-held East Berlin was eventually incorporated into the GDR, but West Berlin remained a separate territory, with its own government and close economic and cultural ties to the Federal Republic of Germany (known as West Germany).

In June 1953, workers on the Stalinallee construction project in East Berlin struck to protest a 10 per cent rise in production goals. This grew to a wave of demonstrations and strikes throughout the GDR. Some 100,000 demonstrators marched on the GDR House of Ministries in East Berlin. Clashes with police and attacks on state offices and food stores followed, and Soviet tanks and troops arrived to restore order. Some 260 demonstrators, 116 police, and 18 Soviet soldiers were killed during the fighting; it is estimated that more than 100 civilians were executed and many imprisoned after the suppression of the uprising.

Beginning in August 1961 the East German government built the Berlin Wall along the frontier between East and West Berlin, to stop the flight of East Germans to West Berlin and thence to West Germany.

In the mid-1960s, pass agreements allowed West Berliners to visit East Berlin for brief periods. This and further normalization of relations between the two parts of Berlin and Germany in 1971 were due largely to the Ostpolitik policy of Willy Brandt, mayor of Berlin from 1957 to 1966 and Chancellor of Germany from 1969 to 1974.

In 1967 and 1968, West Berlin was the scene of major student demonstrations for educational and political reforms.

By the 1980s West Berlin once again enjoyed a rich cultural life and material prosperity, thanks to West German government subsidies. East Berlin also improved in major ways; by the 1980s it too was a well-known cultural centre, and its government quarter had been completely rebuilt. East Berliners could not pass freely into West Berlin until late 1989, when dismantling of the wall began.

D.

After Reunification

When Germany reunified in October 1990, a reunited Berlin once again became the national capital. The seat of the federal government was scheduled to shift from Bonn to Berlin over a 12-year period beginning in 1991. The remodelled Reichstag parliamentary building was opened in April 1999, with most of the neighbouring new federal office buildings also ready for use. South of the Reichstag, Potsdamerplatz is undergoing major development, which will make it the centre of Berlin once more. Huge celebrations were held in the city in November to mark the tenth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. In February 2000 the illustrious Berlin Film Festival celebrated its 50th year.

In September 2001, a gala attended by President Johannes Rau, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, and Henry Kissinger, among others, heralded the opening of the city’s first Jewish museum since the war.