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Appraisal
Empirically Berlin dates back to the 13th century and by the 15th century it was an established city and the base for the regions aristocracy. By the end of the following century it was a significant european trading centre and the power base of the pro- Prussian Hohezollern dynasty.
At the beginning of the 17th century it became embroiled in the European-wide 'Thirty Years War' and invaded several times by a variety of invaders, During this time its population fell from around 12.000 people to 6,000 and the city's buildings were repeatedly reduced to ruins. .After the end of the war in 1648 Jewish and Huguenot refugees were encouraged to settle in the city had become renowned for its religious tolerance. It prospered and remained oart of the Prussian Empire. In the 1871 it was designated as the capital of the newl German Empire.At the end of WW1 it expanded rapidly and became known for liberal social attitudes and particularly sexual expression.
When Hitler's Nazis party took control of Germany Berlin's status as a 'progressive' city began to diminish. Most of the city's 170,00 Jews were forced to flee from their homes and those that did not leave voluntarily by the outbeak of WW2 were sent to their deaths in the concentrantation camps. see Auschwitz & Birkenau.
During the latter part of WW2 Berlin was severely damaged by repeated bombing by the Allies. In 1945 the city was attacked from the west by the Allies and from the east by the Soviets. The two armies met at the Brandenburg Gate and the city was divided into two zones - East and West Berlin. The Soviet forces however surrounded the Allied forces who were in control of the western sector and West Berlin became an Allied 'island' in Soviet controlled East Germany. The division of Berlin and the ensuing 'cold war' is documented on other Euromost Berlin pages.
Since the fall of communism in Berlin and East Germany the city's post-war noteriety because of the Berlin Wall has made it a place that democratic minded pilgrims from all over the world visit but only a few metres of original wall remain. In some respects Berlin is famous for the wrong reasons and there is much more to the city than it's Nazis associations or misfortune to be the frontier between two ideologically opposed super-powers.
