BERLIN
Few Cities have been as exciting and dynamic as Berlin over the last decade.
After WWII the victors divided both Germany and Berlin into sectors and gave each of the
winning states (originally Britain, the US and the Soviet Union -- though France was given
a sector built out of the US and British sectors), supposedly a temporary measure until
the structure of the new Germany could be decided upon. The Cold War took hold, the
iron curtain rose, and both Germany and Berlin remained divided. Berlin was deep in
the Soviet sector (which became East German), far from West Germany, near the Polish
border. For the Soviets and the East Germans, this was a scandal, they believed
Berlin should be the capital of East Germany and the western powers should give up their
hold on the western sections of the city. In 1948-49 Stalin tried to blockade the
western sectors of Berlin, cutting them off from supplies and even electricity and water
in order to get them to submit to a forced unification with the East. The west, led
by the US, instituted an airlift campaign to keep West Berlin supplied, and Stalin's
gambit failed. As it became clear that the Communist system was failing
economically, East Germans in the fifties and early sixties used West Berlin as an escape
route out of East Germany. They could walk over to the western part of Berlin and
then simply take a flight over to West Germany and became citizens of the West German
state. By 1961 the East was losing its brightest and most needed citizens.
In August 1961 the East German state built a wall around West Berlin in order
to prevent anyone from the East to be able to go to the western part of the city (and
vice-versa). This was a traumatic event for the Berliners, as families, friends, and
sometimes even buildings were divided. It stopped the loss of citizens to the West,
but symbolized the failure of communism -- a wall had to be built to keep people inside
the 'workers and farmers paradise.' In the seventies and eighties the city had
problems keeping and attracting citizens. West Germans living in Berlin had to
undergo harassment when they traveled along three designated routes connecting West Berlin
with West Germany, and the isolation made it seem to many an undesirable place to live.
Because officially it was not part of West Germany, many West German males moved
their to avoid mandatory military service, and the city developed a system of parks and
perks designed to make life there more attractive. With unification that all
changed, Berlin was again made the capital of Germany, the government moved there, and
suddenly unified, the city became dynamic and thriving -- the biggest construction site in
the world, some claimed, as the eastern portions of the city were rebuilt.
Berlin is also a city that never sleeps, it's night life is
around the clock, a city full of energy and independence. Even the Nazis couldn't
really keep Berlin under control in the thirties until war time martial law was declared.
I recommend visiting Berlin and exploring its historical cites, museums, night
clubs, and seeing it as it continues to change in the time since unification. If you
can't, however, here are some photos. I hope to add more photos later, so check back
in a few weeks.
Gedaechtniskirche -- a church in the middle of Berlin,
a shrine to the horrors of war
Humboldt University -- a look at a square where the most
infamous of Nazi book burnings occured
The Reichstag -- the meeting place of the parliament, the
Bundestag
Reichstag dome -- views inside the glass dome atop the Reichstag
Kanzleramt -- Office of the Chancellor, currently Gerhard
Schroeder (Social Democrat - SPD)
Ausswaertiges Amt -- Office of the Foreign Minister,
currently Joschka Fischer (Greens)
Fernsehturm -- the television tower in former East Berlin
Above Berlin -- views from atop the Fernsehturm
East from above -- some views of old East Berlin from
Fernsehturm
Alex from above -- Alexanderplatz from the Fernsehturm
Unter den Linden -- a famous street in old East Berlin
Alex at street level -- Alexanderplatz at street level
Old Berlin - some sights
Rotes Rathaus - city hall
Marx-Engels - a statue for the old heros of communism
Flags - The German and EU Flag outside the Reichstag
Bundesrat - the Bundesrat building
Potsdamer Platz - a bustling rebuilt center of Berlin
Potsdamer Platz 2
Marzahn - a section of old East Berlin
Marzahn II
Marzahn III
Marzahn IV
Marzahn V
Brandenburg Gate
Potsdam
East Berlin - 1995
More East Berlin, 1995
Wrapped
Reichstag (1995)
Wrapped Reichstag again
Potsdamer Platz 1995 (compare to above pictures)