Berlin History

Berlin truly has a rich history. Over the years there have been so many changes in this city, and yet the people never seem to give up. While watching the fifteen part video, Berlin History, I learned a lot about this amazing city. It seems to be a place where ideas have always clashed. One aspect of Berlin’s past that I find fascinating is how the architecture of the city has evolved. Berlin started out as an average city, but under the guidance of architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel, the city transformed. Inspired by the elegance and classical style of cities like ancient Greece, Schinkel made the city look older than it really was. He turned the city into a European capital. Before long though, he became inspired by industrialism. Schinkel loved romanticism and beauty, but progressive form also excited him, so he melded the two into his architecture. And the city continued to progress. 

As the video tells us, “By the turn of the twentieth century, Berlin had become the most modern city in the western world.” This is quite remarkable, considering that this metropolis had just been a small city. It’s amazing to see how much Berlin changed, and continued to change. Another famous architect, Peter Behrens, left his mark on the city as well. Behrens believed that advances in technology had to be designed with artistic form. He wanted everything to be beautiful. And so creativity and beauty blossomed in the city, as modernism transformed Berlin. This seemed like a wonderful time in the history of Berlin’s architecture, combining both aesthetics and practicality. But this ended with Hitler. He wanted to create a new capital city under his reign. This didn’t last long though, as Berlin was demolished during WWII. The city was left in such ruins that some believed it would never be rebuilt. “But Berlin is a city that simply won’t give up,” Matt Frei states in the video. “A succession of new, old buildings keep appearing. They acknowledge rather than deny their history.” Throughout history the people of the city have not given up. They always seem to look forward, and yet don’t forget the past either. The city continues to grow, change, and rebuild even today.

the current Berlin skyline

Another historical aspect that I find both fascinating and heartbreaking is that of the Berlin Wall. After the end of WWII, Germany was divided between the Allies. The East was controlled by Russia, while the West was under the control of America, Britain, and France. Unofficially Berlin was also divided into East and West. Soon the ideologies of the two sides clashed. When East Berliners started fleeing to the West, the East German government decided to build a wall to keep East Berliners out of West Berlin and to keep West Berliners out of East Germany. Family, friends, and neighbors were separated overnight. Many still tried to flee to West Berlin, with people even jumping from windows on the border.  Some people were successful in crossing the new border and others lost their lives.

 I can’t even imagine what it must have been like for the citizens of Berlin. They were separated from the people they loved, cut off from work and supplies, not allowed to travel freely through their own city, and all of West Berlin was completely trapped within the wall. Although, these citizens in the West were free and came to stand as a symbol for freedom in the western world. They would not simply give up and bow their heads in defeat. The people of Berlin truly represented freedom. In 1963 John F. Kennedy visited West Berlin and gave a speech that ended with, “All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words ‘Ich bin ein Berliner!’” He gave support and hope to the people of this divided city. 

people celebrating the fall of the wall

  When the wall finally came down in 1989, it marked the end of the cruelties of the cold war. Germany was once again unified and free. Today a double line of bricks marks a path through the city where the wall once stood, as a reminder of the past. The video is truly correct in stating that “Berlin is a city where the past and the future just keep colliding.” The resilient Berliners keep moving forward while never forgetting their past. I now feel that I know a lot more about the history of this remarkable city and cannot wait to experience it in person. 

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