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Berlin History
| Berlin located in central Europe,
is the capital and the biggest city in Germany. With a population
of about 3.5 million people, Berlin’s history plays an
important role in its people as well as outsiders to the country.
Berlin had its beginning in two Wendish villages, Berlin and
Kölln, which were chartered in the 13th century, and then
merged in 1307. Most people relate Berlin to the Nazi regime
of 1933-1945. Berlin remains the second largest city of Europe,
with notable economic political |
and educational centers as well as major communications and transportation
hubs in Central Europe. The Celts are the first recorded people of
Germany but, between 1000 BC and 100 BC, Scandinavian tribes gradually
migrated from the north and conquered them. In the 1st century BC,
Germany comprised an estimated 4 million people. Due to this overpopulation,
several tribes in the region began to emigrate to Spain, North Africa,
and to England.
During the16th century known as the age of Reformation, which marked
a rebirth of biblical beliefs and practices known as Protestantism
throughout Europe, the Protestant movement grew which led to political
divisions and ultimately war. By the agreement known as the Peace
of Augsburg in 1555 a settlement had been struck which effectively
recognized Lutheranism as the religion of most of northern and central
Germany. The gap between the Catholics and Protestants eventually
erupted into a series of wars collectively known as the Thirty Years
War (1618-1648).
The history of Germany is most recognized with Nazi dictatorship
and WWII that left a huge impact on the land and people of the country.
Hitler in charge of the chaos and disorder half-persuaded, half-coerced
the Reichstag to grant him absolute power. Hitler lost no time in
founding a totalitarian state, known unofficially as the Third Reich,
supposedly in the tradition of the Holy Roman Empire, and the unified
German Empire set up by Bismarck. Hitler's virulent racism gave
rise to a cruel system of anti-Semitism. The Nuremberg Laws of September
1935, which deprived Jews of most civil rights, were supplemented
by other measures designed to rid Germany of Jews. These measures
were to culminate in a policy of deliberate extermination during
World War II, taking the lives of approximately 6 million European
Jews. More immediately, however, a concerted state program of ending
unemployment with public works projects and a restoration of business
confidence produced remarkable economic recovery in Germany.
The German collapse began in mid 1944 when the Allies invaded France
and strategic bombing began to reduce German shield production.
When Hitler committed suicide in Berlin in April 1945, Germany was
largely in ruins and at the mercy of the countries it had ravaged.
Germany had went through many ups and downs, but with the help of
its people and faith, Germany today looks very different from its
war days. Now the once grey skies are blue again, the empty parks
and fields are green again and filled with life. Germany is learning
how to cope with their past and trying to change the countries future
into a bright and sunny one.
More Information
 www.state.gov
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Berlin Travel Guides
Frommer's Berlin
Lonely Planet Berlin
Let's Go Berlin
Fodors Berlin
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