Berlin

DW Culture

Berlin in the past and today. During World War II Berlin was subject to 363 air raids between 1940 - 1945 and was heavily destroyed. In the picture of 2018 you can see the rebuild Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral) and the new modern east facade of the Stadtschloss (Berlin Palace).

The British Library

The Berlin Wall fell #onthisday in 1989.

In 1945, the city of Berlin was divided into eastern and western zones, controlled by the Soviet Union and the Western powers respectively. Emigration to the West was forbidden but many East Germans escaped by crossing from East to West Berlin.

To prevent this, in August 1961 the East German authorities closed the borders and began to construct a wall. This information map of 1963, made for West Germans and western visitors, illustrates the wall in red, with West Berlin surrounded by barbed wire. #BLMaps