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Berlin is ground zero of some of the most profound change of the late twentieth century. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Berlin has risen phoenix-like to become one of the most modern capitals in Europe. This city of greater than three million people is in the process of reclaiming its soul from the bits, pieces, and remnants of its shattered history. Each shard becoming part of the colorful new mosaic that is today's Berlin.
After WWII, Berlin was partitioned into four sectors ruled by the Allies - the USA, USSR, Britain and France. The area controlled by the United States, Britain, and France quickly coalesced into one region - West Berlin. On the other hand, the Soviets maintained control over East Berlin and thus the stage was set for the most symbolic battleground of the Cold War. The Berlin Wall was constructed in the summer of 1961 to reign in East Germans fleeing the oppressive communist regime and most notably the infamous Stazi police who kept East Berliners in a constant state of terror through their vast network of civilian informants. On the night of November 9, 1989 the Berlin Wall was dismantled amidst much celebration as hundreds of thousands of Germans hugged and danced in the wake of a new dawn for Berlin.
Berlin has only been the united Germany's capital since 1999 and still bears the marks of the 40 years division. Berlin continues to have two city centers - East and west. The Alexanderplatz, in the heart of East Berlin, was the center of mass demonstrations during the events leading up to the fall of the Berlin Wall and is also famous as the residence of the aesthetically questionable 365 meter TV tower. The Unter den Linden, Berlin's prestigious boulevard once brought to an abrupt end at the Brandenburg Gate by the Berlin Wall, is now brimming with life. Tourists, students, and everyday people have filled in the cracks of the past, ushering in a new era that has no space for a history that many Berliners feel is best erased from memory.
Throughout recent history, Berlin has sired different fringe culture factions. The 1920's Weimar Republic produced the luminous playwright Bertholdt Brecht of Three Penny Opera fame and the raucous spirit of the time is forever immortalized in Christopher Isherwood's Berlin Stories with the unforgettable Sally Bowles. In the 60's and 70's, West Germany's anarchist scene took up residence in Kreuzberg, West Berlin. Punks, squatters, anarchists, and liberal intellectuals congregated to form a new movement and a new fashion - eventually bringing leather and punk into mainstream consciousness. Today, there is the annual Love Parade. Conceived in 1989 as a demonstration for love and peace, the Love Parade essentially transforms Berlin into one huge techno club and attracts over a million partiers. From cabaret to techno, Berlin continues to reinvent itself as a counterculture hotspot that has both eyes firmly looking to the future.
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