The History of Berlin

          After watching the BBC documentary film about the history of Berlin, I have found that the history of Berlin is not just of conflict, but one that shows the persistence of the human spirit and what can be accomplished within a community. Some of the topics that I found most interesting about Berlin were the establishment of the Weimar after World War I, the Berlin Airlift in 1948 and 1949, and the deconstruction of the Schloss to make way for the Palace of the Republic in East Berlin. All of these topics show the controversy and conflicts that surrounded East and West Berlin throughout the 20^th Century.

            I find the history of the Weimar Republic interesting because during a time of political and economic turmoil, the arts and the social atmosphere of the republic were able to progress and flourish. The artist George Grosz was one of the many artists during the time that used their work to depict the life of the poor and show the rise of Nazism. These artists were apart of the German Expression movement and influenced many aspects of the arts including paintings, cinema, and theater. Another major social movement was the beginning of gay and transgender rights campaigns. In 1919, Magnus Hirshfeld founded the Institute for Sexual Research in Berlin. This institute promoted the understanding and tolerance of gay rights and transsexual individuals. I think this is important because it shows how progressive the city of Berlin had been in terms of social movements. This institution may have been shut down when the Nazi’s came to power in 1933, but it shows that Berlin was also a center of progressive through out the twentieth century.

The bust of Magnus Hirshfeld who founded the Institute for Sexual Research in the Weimar Republic in 1919.   

            Another example of the persistence of the people of Berlin during a difficult time is the German Blockade during 1948 and 1949. At this time, the Soviet Union blocked the railway and roadway routes for the Allied forces to supply the people of West Berlin with their necessary resources. In response to this blockade, the Berlin Airlift was started in June of 1948. I find it outstanding that an airlift of such a large magnitude was successfully organized. Planes was taking off and landing several times an hour in order to supply the over 4,000 tons of daily fuel and food needed to keep people of West Berlin alive. The fact that the Berlin Airlift lasted 462 days shows that the West was willing to do whatever it takes to work against the opposition of the Soviet Union.

The Berlin Airlift started in June of 1948 and ended May of 1949. In the image, the German people of West Berlin are watching one of the many planes that came to deliver supplies. 

            I also find it interesting that building have large significance to the history of Berlin and that a building can serve as a powerful political statement. The Stadtschloss City Palace was built in the 15^th and was the residence for kings of Prussia and German Emperors. After World War II, the palace suffered significant damages. Since the palace was located in East Berlin, and was therefore controlled by the Soviets, the palace was viewed as a symbol of Prussian imperialism. The building was torn down in 1950. On the same plot of land, the Palace of the People was built in 1970 in East Berlin. This building housed the German parliament was open to the public often for cultural events. The construction of the Palace of the Republic on the same site of the Schloss symbolized the old imperial nation being replaced by the young social state. The building shared the same fate as its predecessor; the palace was torn down in 2003 after the reunification of Germany. In 2013, the reconstruction of the Schloss began, this building would help to serve as a symbol to the reunification of Germany. I find it interesting that the destruction and reconstructions of building serve as symbols to the power that is currently in control of Germany.

The Stadtschloss City Palace built in the 15th and torn down after World War II by the socialists in power in East Berlin.

The Palace of the Republic, built in East Berlin in 1976 as the seat of the German parliament. 

The Influence of Martin Luther

           The video Martin Luther: Reluctant Revolutionary, chronicled the conflict between Luther and the Catholic church, the impact Martin Luther’s work had on the birth of the Reformation, and the growing desire for religious freedom of peasants across Europe.

            Martin Luther, a German monk, left his mark on history by challenging the ideas of the powerful Catholic Church. Luther waged his battle against the Catholic Church using the power of the pen. Luther argued against the need for the clergy to be the middleman between a person and their relationship with God. He sparked the change in Germany for the rejection of the need for the rituals within the Catholic faith and shed light on the expensive needs of the Papacy and their wasteful spending of money.

Martin Luther’s On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church, published in 1520. In this, Luther rejects the Catholic Church’s seven sacraments by asserting they are not in the Bible.

One of Martin Luther’s most radical and revolutionary pieces of work were the Ninety-Five Theses he posted on the All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg, Saxony. This document was revolutionary not only for it’s ideas but for how quickly the ideas spread through out Germany and the Holy Roman Empire. One of the points I found the most intriguing was that Martin Luther was able to take advantage of the new technology of the printing press in order to quickly spread his idea. He was able to share his ideas with the people of the empire faster than the Catholic Church was able to condemn them.  Luther was the one of the first people to show how the printing press was an effective way to spread ideas not only to the people in power but to the common people. Martin Luther was able to effectively start a grass roots campaign for religious freedom among the peasants of the Holy Roman Empire.

The doors of the All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg were Martin Luther posted The Ninety-Five These, sparking the Protestant Reformation in 1517.

Martin Luther was also an influential figure because he was unwilling to recant his ideas about the Catholic Church and held true to his words. In his works, Luther used crude language, witty writing, and the vernacular in order to relate his ideas to the common people of the empire. I find it interesting that Martin Luther saw it more effective to target his writing to the common people rather than the princes or those in power. It was by connecting to the common people that Luther was able to withstand the counter attacks of the Catholic Church. This represented a shift in Germany from seeing the Catholic Church as a powerful force to accepting the ideas of the Reformation.

This is one of the many images that Martin Luther included in this writing in which the Pope is depicted as the antichrist. He also depicted the pope as the devil or as a pig. 

The ideas of his work were so insurgent and inspiring that peasants took Luther’s ideas for religious freedom and applied them to freedom from local lords and the search for social freedom. I find it interesting that Luther’s ideas went further than he anticipated or wanted. His ideas were so inspiring that they caused an uproar for political freedom. Martin Luther himself was so inspiring because he showed that one man can stand up to the powerful authority of the time and incite change. This shows how impactful and powerful the written word can be and how differing interpretation of words can lead to more conflict and unforeseen consequences. His works ended up not only prompting the religious freedom of people of German but for the social freedom as well.

Overall, Martin Luther is an important figure for German history because his instigated religious and social changes, and stood up against one of the most powerful forces of the time, the Catholic Church, and came out victorious.

[Word Count = 572]