Berliners suffered greatly from the defeat of Germany in World War I, though their city's buildings were not much damaged. And then came Adolf Hitler, and World War II.
When the Nazis took over Germany, they created more misery in twelve years than the nation would normally see in a century. Hitler damaged Germany in many ways:
The British air raids began in 1940; the American, in 1942. Potsdamerplatz was taken out early, reduced to rubble by a bombing raid in the 1941. The Reich buildings and older official buildings nearby, along Unter den Linden, were particular targets. But it was not the Allies who destroyed the original linden trees: that had been done before the war, on Hitler's orders, to facilitate the digging of a new U-Bahn (subway) tunnel. The area around the Kurfürstendamm also was hit hard. Block after block of apartment houses had their habitable areas reduced to basement and sometimes ground floor, which survivors of the air raids shared with rats. In April 1945, one and half million Soviet soldiers marched in from the east, determined to take revenge for the Battle of Stalingrad and the siege of Leningrad. By the time Hitler killed himself in his bunker, some fifty thousand Berliners had died and many times that number had fled; 39 percent of all buildings in the city had been destroyed, including more than a quarter of the housing stock.
As devastating as the destruction was, the rebuilding of the city was also amazing. These landmarks were all restored and rebuilt, and are worth studying as cultural and architectural pieces. Potsdamerplatz is a large square or plaza, surrounded by buildings, and featuring trees, fountains, and sculptures. Unter den Linden is a grand boulevard street through heart of the city lined on both sides with linden trees. The city's U-Bahn (subway) system is linked with elevated railroads, streetcars, and local commuter trains to form a masterful public transportation system. Kurfürstendamm is an elegant street defining an upscale shopping area.
Berlin was a major cultural center in the 1800's, and it is still one today - a fact which is astounding, given the horror inflicted on the city, and the destruction from which it rebuilt itself.
