Allegorical urban planning
Introduction
The history of Berlin, the current capital of Germany, encompasses the period from its first human colonization in prehistory to the present day. In 1307 Berlin and Cölln (on today's Museum Island) were united into a city that retained the name Berlin. In 1415 it was chosen as the capital of Brandenburg and has subsequently been the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire, the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany.[5].
During the final months of World War II, the Allies bombed most German cities. The Battle of Berlin was the final confrontation between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), which brought as a direct consequence the unconditional surrender of Germany to the Red Army.[6].
After the end of World War II in Europe, Berlin was militarily occupied in four areas. In 1948, in the three western sectors (West Berlin), the Western Allies establish the money of the Federal Republic of Germany "Federal Republic of Germany (1949-1990)"), FRG, after the monetary reform. The Soviet Union responded with the blockade of West Berlin and the creation of the German Democratic Republic (GDR in 1949). The blockade of Berlin was implemented when land access to the western part of the city was blocked in 1948 by the Red Army. The blockade lasted almost a year, and in addition to the political tensions it caused between world powers, it is remembered for the laborious supply strategy of the West Berlin population, which the allied armies supplied with an "airlift" over several months.[7].
In 1961, the GDR built the Berlin Wall to separate the two parts of the city, and effectively isolate West Berlin from the GDR. The fall of the Berlin Wall occurred in 1989 when the GDR government accepted the free movement of citizens between the two parts of the city. The following year with German Reunification, the GDR disappeared, effectively annexed into the FRG, which moved its capital from Bonn to Berlin in 1990, thereby giving entry to the European Union (EU) to the population of the former republic.
Since 1991, Berlin has experienced a period of expansion, similar to that which followed the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), which ended with the proclamation of the German Empire. Then, the economic boom led to a wave of urban expansion driven in a process known as Gründerzeit (the era of the founders[8]) that developed in the midst of the industrialization of the city at the time of the so-called "millionaire builders", who erected five-story housing blocks in the city. The street networks were expanded and the main buildings necessary for the government were built.[9].