Berlin: A History, Part One

Berlin, Berlin, mein Hertz ist in Berlin.

I love Berlin.

The first time I went there I was in 5th grade. Oh how I loved it. It was a magical place and my first experience outside of America. It took me out of school and plopped me in a place where I had no idea what people were saying. I saw cobblestone streets and attempted to walk on them. I ate food that I had only had at my Oma's house previously. I saw a world that I didn't know existed before.

At the time I had no idea how special a place Berlin would hold in my heart.

This post is a "quick" rundown of Berlin and German history. Enjoy and remember, I am a European history major, so prepare yourself.

Tribes, The Holy Roman Empire, and Prussia

A (very small) piece of the Bayeux Tapestry

Germany was called Germania by the Romans and stretched all the way up to Norway. The Roman Empire was constantly expanding and therefore trade and ultimately war with the Germanic tribes was an often occurance. They were considered the barbarians from the north, and for a long time, were believed to be the ultimate downfall of the Roman Empire. While historians have backed off the idea that the Germanic tribes were responsible for the fall of Rome, they are still credited with much of the outside influence involved.

The Germanic people started to migrate as far north as Great Britain in the 5th and 6th century which mainly ended with the Battle of Hastings in 1066, and inspired one of the most amazing pieces of art (in my opinion) ever to exist; the Bayeux Tapestry. Interestingly, the name England actually is derived from the Angeln region in Germany and the English language is Germanic in origin, which was later influenced by Old Norse brought to the island through Viking invasions.

The Holy Roman Empire (Heiliges Römisches Reich) was founded around 900 and consisted of most of central Europe. The territories fluctuated throughout this period and it was here where the Protestant Reformation took form with Martin Luther at its head.

Berliner Stadtschloss

Founded sometime around the 13th century, Berlin began as most cities in Europe at the time did, as a trading post. It became a center point for the German providence early on and was seen as the capital for the Prussian Kingdom and a royal palace, Berliner Stadtschloss, was built in 1451. Sadly, the palace was demolished in 1950 by the DDR (German Democratic Republic a.k.a. Eastern Germany), but is in the process of being partially rebuilt today.

Prussia itself was not founded until the 16th century and the name Prussia derives from the "Old Prussia" which was conquered by the Teutonic Knights, a medieval German order. Prussia lasted until the end of World War II when in 1947 the Allies declared its dissolution.

A surprising fact about Berlin is that it has survived not just two, but three wars that were extremely devastating for the city and its people.

Napoléon enters Berlin

The first largely devastating war was the Thirty Years' War during the 17th century. What started out as a religious war between Catholics and the somewhat new Protestants eventually turned to become a war for territory, and the Holy Roman Empire was weak and an easy target. This period of war involved almost all of Europe and Berlin itself was hugely damaged and about half the population was killed from war, famine, and disease. In the whole of the German states, half of the citizens may have perished.

But, Berlin survived and continued to survive history through the Renaissance, Napoléon Bonaparte's invasion, and the Industrial Revolution, to name a few.

During the Age of Enlightenment in Europe, Frederick the Great believed himself the leader of the movement and brought many interesting ideas and people to Berlin, including Voltaire who stayed for a brief period. This time also brought famous composers such as Mozart, Bach and Joseph Hyden (who wrote Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser, the melody used for the German national anthem, Deutschlandlied) to Germany.

Deutsches Reich and World War I

In 1871, Berlin was declared the capital of the newly founded German Empire. This new empire, formed at Versailles Palace in Paris, was also known as the Deutsches Reich. The new empire rapidly expanded and became extremely prosperous. For example, the Imperial German Navy went from minimal to second best only to the Royal British Navy in less than a decade. It was during this time that Germany expanded out to what is today Poland. Forty-three years after it was founded, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand would drag Berlin into yet another war, this one well known to us all, World War I.

Proclamation of the German Empire.
Kaiser Wilhelm I can be seen at the top of the stairs.
Otto von Bismark can be seen in white.

The Deutseches Reich disintegrated overnight after their defeat in World War I. For a short while after the war, Germany went through a leftist revolution that could have lead to a communist Germany, allied with Soviet Russia, but the revolution failed to come to any common ground and soon thereafter the Weimar Republic was formed. Technically, the republic was still called the Deutsches Reich, but was later looked at as a second Reich when Hitler formed the Großdeutsches Reich (Third Reich).

Weimar Republic and the Great Depression

The Weimar Republic was a very rough period for Germany. With the defeat in the Great War and the Treaty of Versailles, which called for the demilitarization of the Rhineland, large territory concessions, and 132 billion Marks in reparations, Germany was disgraced.

It became a hotbed for radical and extremist groups and was hit hard with hyperinflation leading up to the Great Depression. Part of the hyperinflation was due to the large amount due to the Allies after the war. The government mistakenly printed large quantities of Marks to pay their debt.

By the end of the crisis, workers were said to have taken wheelbarrows of Marks to buy loaves of bread only to find their money was worthless between the time they received it and when they attempted to use it. Interestingly, the World War I reparations were not fully paid until after the end of World War II.

In May of 1929 my grandmother was born. Five months later the New York Stock Exchange crashed. America was one of the biggest lenders to Germany after the Great War, and when they withdrew their loans, Germany was once again devastated.

NSDAP, München 1930
Can you spot Hitler?

After a turbulent period of depression the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP) started gaining more and more popularity in the German parliament.

Starting in 1930, President Hindenburg assumed dictatorial emergency powers to back the Chancellorship of four different men. One by one they were pushed out until Hindenburg chose Hitler, assuming he could be easily controlled. Little did Hindenburg know, he started a whole new bloody chapter in German history.

Next up: Nazi takeover, World War II, die Mauer, Reunification and modern Berlin! How incredibly exciting!