Berlin's History
A short Summary
Berlin history is closely tied to industry and war.
Founded as a trading post as early as the 13th century, the area currently known as Berlin has had a long history in Europe. The area grew in popularity when in 1470, the Elector Friedrich II of Brandenburg established his place of residence there.
After the 30 Years War Berlin became more a place of prominence under the guidance of Elector Friedrich Wilhelm, who sponsored Jews and others seeking asylum.
But in the early part of the 19th century, Berlin was, for a short time, under French rule, and while a revolution was tried it was suppressed by the middle part of that century, despite the influence of the Enlightenment during the early part of that century. But with the Industrial Revolution taking hold in the latter half of this century and the leadership of Kaiser Wilhelm, Berlin’s population hit nearly two million people by 1900 and large manufacturing corporations like Siemens became established.
By World War I, Berlin was a major on face on the global industrial map.
Prior to the Nazi takeover in the early 1930s, Communists were the largest party representation in Berlin, and areas of the city remained largely against the Nazis throughout their rule and through the second World War. During World War II, the city experience heavy bombing the Allied forces, the two largest powers involved being the U.S. and Russia. After the Allied victory, the Potsdam Conference in 1945 set out to make a decision on the city, and its split between Communist and Democratic views.
By 1948, it was split into two, as was the rest of Germany, East and West. The building of the Berlin Wall commenced in 1961, largely as a way to stop the influx of skilled labor to the West where workers could likely make a better wage under the Democratic system. The wall, however, was opened in 1989, as Communism’s hold on Eastern and Middle European countries began to deteriorate in the latter part of that decade.
By 1990, the wall was torn down. There are still small chunks of it seen in areas of the city and country side, but these are pieces that serve nothing more than historical reference points, instead of a containment device.