Berlin is the capital of Germany. But it is nowhere near the centre of the country (see Map 1) and it was difficult to get to for a long time. Why is this?

The answer is that what people call ‘Germany’ has changed. When Germany first became a united country in 1871 it was much bigger than it now is, and Berlin was right in the middle. All the major railways were then built with Berlin as the focus. In the same way, Hitler designed the national motorway system of the 1930s and 1940s with Berlin as the hub. So it was a well-placed capital city until 1945.

b) The East-West divide

After the Second World War (1939-45) Berlin was divided in two. The Russians controlled East Berlin and ran it as part of their Communist Empire. West Berlin was under British, French and American control and operated like most other cities in western Europe.

Although Russia, Britain, France and America had fought together to defeat Germany in the war, when it finished, they stopped trusting each other. Russia would not let people in or out of East Berlin. Later they built a wall through the middle of the city. As a result,

• The old centre of the city stopped being the most important zone and became a dangerous no-go area.
• A new CBD (Central Business District) was set up in West Berlin.
• Much of East Berlin was left with war damage for decades.

Berlin was also surrounded by East Germany – a communist country controlled by Russia. People could only reach West Berlin by travelling through ‘hostile territory’ along a limited number of road, rail or air routes which the Russians patrolled very carefully.

As a result:

• The West Germans moved their capital city into a more accessible location in West Germany, to a town called Bonn.
• West Berlin could not expand outwards into the surrounding countryside – Russia would not permit it.

Germany was reunified in 1991. Attitudes in Russia changed; they gave up their control of East Germany and East Berlin, and took their soldiers home. East and West Germany became a single country and Berlin a unified city.

c) The New Berlin – changes after 1991

The Parliament Building

c) i. A new city centre has been built at Potsdamer Platz.

The war and the Berlin Wall left Potsdamer Platz a derelict and deserted wasteland for over 50 years. Since then eight billion Deutschmarks, nearly three billion pounds, has been staked on a gamble to make the Potsdamer Platz the new central square of Berlin once more.

The DaimlerChrysler corporation and the Sony organisation presented an international team of architects with a unique opportunity – to build a city centre from scratch with offices, hotels, private flats, shopping, theatres and cinemas on the land that was empty. And the Potsdamer Platz has shot up out of the wasteland in just five years.

More than 400 construction firms put up the buildings and fixed the new infrastructure. Rubbish collection and the delivery of goods to the area is carried out unseen through a labyrinth of underground tunnels. Electric power and air conditioning are supplied by the new Bewag power station.

The city’s transport network is being reconnected. Huge tunnels have been constructed under the River Spree to ferry passengers from the new Lehrter Railway Station to the Potsdamer Platz itself.

And the people will keep coming. Big companies like DaimlerChrysler want to be in the right place at the right time and have the right address to promote their image.

c) ii. New job opportunities of every kind are available in the prosperous, expanding economy.

Bettina Hausmann

Bettina Hausmann came from Stuttgart to work in marketing for Mercedes-Benz. When she first moved in to the Potsdamer Platz it was still a big building site. Employees went from one building to another wearing hard hats and heavy boots. And in no time they put up all these buildings – it was really exciting to watch.

To put it simply, DaimlerChrysler is the owner of all the rental properties. But Bettina doesn’t think there’s a big DaimlerChrysler stamp on everything or that everyone immediately thinks of Mercedes-Benz when they go there.

She is putting the finishing touches to a big promotion for Mercedes-Benz at the German film ‘Oscars’. There’s only two days to go before a fleet of luxury Mercedes will ferry film celebrities to the prize-giving ceremony. More proof that for the movers and shakers, Berlin is the place where everyone wants to be seen.

Marek Brunner

Marek Brunner was born in the former East Germany and stands to benefit from the exciting opportunities the new Berlin offers.

Marek works in the kind of high-tech industry which is always around when business locations take off: the New Media. He gets paid to play all the latest computer games and advise on whether they should receive a German licence.

Marek was in Leningrad when the Berlin Wall came down. He only heard about it on a Russian news programme. Two weeks later, when he actually crossed the border and came to West Berlin, he was really overwhelmed at the beaming bright lights, and all the people. But it was also a little frightening; it all looked too smooth and too beautiful – there was too much glitz and glamour.

Marek thinks East and West will continue to grow together – it’s really going to happen. Today’s teenagers already hardly remember the old East Germany. They have no links with the past, except through their parents. He believes that in ten years you won’t notice a single difference.

Andy

Not everyone can cope with life in the fast lane. Andy lost his job as a train driver on the Berlin underground when his addiction to heroin spiralled out of control. He was almost a casualty of the new Berlin. When cities grow quickly there are always people who are left behind.

He is making a good recovery and makes ends meet by selling the MOTZ, Berlin’s equivalent of The Big Issue. He collects a supply of magazines from the MOTZ caravan each day and then, ironically, he sells them on the same trains that he used to drive. He doesn’t sell papers on the Potsdamer Platz. There are only a few people who dare to go there, because it’s all private. It’s guarded by security firms, and their big dogs are just biting machines. Anyone caught selling there is driven away. He prefers to sell on the underground and keep an eye out for any guards. If he sees them, he just stops selling and catches the next train. Andy says there are so many people there, the guards can’t keep an eye on everything.

So Berlin is a magnet even for people in Andy’s line of work. And they are gravitating here from far and wide. The people selling the MOTZ magazine come from everywhere. From Turkey, from Africa, there are Arabs, Russians, Italians, Spanish, French and British people and you all just have to get along. And you help one another as much as possible, giving tips about selling. People are happy to accept help. They have all come here to earn money, to earn it honestly, not to rob people or deal drugs.