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 Berlin, the site of the world's first television broadcast and one-time home of Albert Einstein, is a relatively young city by European standards. Records of the first two merchant settlements on the Spree River date to the early 13th century. The two settlements Berlin and Cölln formed a union in 1307, and their location at the junction of medieval trade routes led to increased development over the next few centuries. In 1470, Berlin gained prominence when Elector Friedrich the Second moved his residence from Brandenburg to the city, making it the capital of the Hohenzollern family dynasty. The city experienced steady growth until the Thirty Years' War in the early 17th century decimated the population, causing the Great Elector Friedrich Wilhelm to encourage the immigration of Protestants fleeing Catholic persecution in France. In 1709, King Friedrich the First of Prussia incorporated the two original merchant towns with three new suburbs to create the "Residential City of Berlin" with approximately 57,000 inhabitants. The following century saw great achievements in the arts and sciences of Berlin, as well as architectural development and political and military strength. By the early 19th century, Berlin had gained an international reputation as a "city of Enlightenment." Occupied intermittently within a 60-year period by the Austrians, Russians and Napoleon's army, Berlin overcame foreign and internal conflict to emerge as an cultural and industrial powerhouse. In 1871, Prussian King Wilhelm the First became Emperor of the Germans, and Berlin was proclaimed the capital of the new Germany. In 1900, nearly two million people lived in the capital city. The Dawn of the Modern Era The First World War interrupted the development of industrialized Berlin. Following the war, political revolt throughout Germany splintered the city's inhabitants, prompting the old imperial army to forcibly suppress the power struggles in 1919. In 1920, Greater Berlin was formed by merging the city with seven surrounding towns, 59 rural parishes and 27 farming estates. Berlin with 3.8 million inhabitants became continental Europe's largest industrial city. During the period between the wars, the cultural and spiritual life of Berlin regained its momentum. Famous architects such as Walter Gropius renewed the urban center, Berlin boasted the first radio broadcast in Germany in 1923, and television had its world premiere in Berlin in 1931. Berlin residents like Albert Einstein won Nobel Prizes, and painters and writers of international distinction made Berlin one of Europe's most cosmopolitan cities. The Rise of the Nazis Despite its cultural reputation of the early 20th century, Berlin suffered from inflation, poverty and political radicalism. The outcome of the economic and social crises was the rise to power of Adolf Hitler, appointed State Chancellor on January 30, 1933. His National Socialist party immediately black-listed hundreds of intellectuals and activists, sparking a reign of terror that led to the extermination of as many as 60,000 Berlin Jews and millions more from around Europe. On September 1, 1939, Hitler announced the beginning of World War II from Berlin. The city also saw the war's end in May 1945 when Germany surrendered unconditionally from Soviet occupation headquarters in Berlin. During the six years in between, the city suffered heavy allied bombing, particularly during the nightly raids of the 1943-44 Battle of Berlin. Its pre-war population of 4.3 million was reduced to 2.8 million, and over 600,000 residences were completely destroyed. The Cold War Begins Following Germany's surrender, Berlin was divided into four zones, each occupied by one of the victorious Allied powers: Britain, France, the Soviet Union and the United States. In 1948, Britain, France and the U.S. introduced a Western German currency and a separate administration in their sectors, splitting the city into East and West. In response, the Soviets blockaded the Allied sectors for over a year, during which West Berliners were supplied solely by an Allied airlift to their "island" surrounded by East German territories. In 1949, the separation of Germany was formalized by the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany in the West, with its capital in Bonn, and the German Democratic Republic in the East, with East Berlin as its capital. During the 1950s, many East Germans crossed the border into the West to escape political oppression and economic hardship. When the ultimatum from Soviet leader Nikita Kruschev to Western powers to stop the exodus failed to produce the desired results, the East German military responded on August 13, 1961, by erecting a wall that sealed off West Berlin's borders for the next 28 years. |
