Berlin's Rich History

Before watching this video, I had very little knowledge in regards to Berlin’s history. I believe the video showed a very realistic and humbling portrayal of what Berlin was like during the mid- 20^th century. One portion of the video that I found interesting was about Magnus Hirschfeld. He was a physician and sexologist that was known as one of the first strong advocates for the homosexual and transgender community. He fought hard to establish rights for these individuals. He eventually organized a congress for sexual reform, which later led to the establishment of the World League for Sexual Reform. Doing so, he received a lot of negative backlash. The reason I bring up Hirschfeld is because today, the homosexual and transgendered community is a huge topic of interest. Though many states have adopted the rights for approving gay marriage and there is a higher level of approval for transgendered individuals, there is still a lot of negative connotation surrounding these principles. With that being said, one can say that Hirschfeld is a big reason as to why both of these communities fight everyday for their rights as individuals. As years progress, it will be interesting to see what laws will be passed and what society’s view on these groups of people will look like, whether it’s in Germany, or wherever it may be.

Photo of Magnus Hirschfeld, known as one of the first homosexual/transgendered advocates.

            The other area in the video that I took interest in was the race between east and west Berlin to see who could rebuild faster and represent what their designated area believed in. The video noted that they initially wanted to see who could establish a taller building/headquarters. Though the West struck first with it’s new headquarters right next to the wall, east Berlin responded by establishing four new gigantic apartment complexes, putting the west’s building in the shadows. In 1969, east Berlin took a step and built what they called the “TV Tower”. It stood three-hundred and sixty meters tall, making it the visible icon of east Berlin. By building this, east Berlin wanted to show their knowledge regarding new technology and the future. The reason these actions struck my interest was because it reminded me about the “space race” that happened around the same time, which was between the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States. Like east and west Berlin, it was a race between two nations to measure who carried more technological superiority between the two.

Photo of the TV Tower today.

Another area in the video that sparked my interest was the importance of architecture in Germany during the 20^th century. At this time, Berlin was the cauldron of creativity. It was noted as the most modern city in the western world. The video went into detail about the famous architect named Albert Speer. Hitler gave him unlimited amounts of funds to help remodel berlin into his up and coming Nazi regime. Speer was noted for his working during the 1936 Olympics, where Hitler told him to make the athletic playing grounds “nazi style”. This just goes to show how much Hitler wanted to spread awareness of the Nazi lifestyle to his surrounding peers. This can be seen as one of his many forms of propaganda that he used. The video notes that today, Germany is still current in regards to modern architecture, and that they don’t deny the past work whatsoever, but rather acknowledge it.

Photo of the famous Nazi Architect, Albert Speer.

The Berlin Schloss also caught my attention. It was known as the royal residence, home of the rulers, heart of berlin, and so forth. It was heavily damaged during WWII. Its remains were left in east berlin, but eventually demolished in 1950 because east Berlin believed with its imperial past, it represented the wrong kind of history. Twenty years after the demolition in 1973, construction began for a replacement. The palace of the republic was built. It was meant to be seat of east German Parliament, but it was also used for the public as well. Such as concerts, parties/gatherings, etc. It was interesting to see the reactions from people in both east and west Berlin. While some thought it was great for Berlin, others saw the new establishment as a tragedy.

 The remains of the Berlin Schloss after WWII.

After watching this long clip on Berlin, I realize the rich history that it carries. While visiting there, I am really looking forward to visiting the Brandenburg gate, after seeing in the video the significance that it has held over time.