busy rebuildingand redefining itself. Since my initial visit I have returned to see friends every otheryear. The city is no longer restricted by its cold war status as the symbolic dividingline between East and West. Berlin is the new political, cultural, and architecturalcapital of Germany and is quickly becoming one of the key business centers in all ofEurope. Before Hitler came to power and lost World War II, Berlin had enjoyedthis status. The German government hopes today to groom Berlin as a possiblecapital of the new European Union. They are grooming there economy, and the cityto be the focal point.BACKGROUNDAfter World War II Berlin, was badly damaged during the war, unlike WorldWar I. The Soviet Union wanted to bring the war to German soil. The Sovietsharbored many hard feelings toward the German people. The city was surroundedby the German Democratic Republic/East Germany, and was partitioned into EastBerlin and West Berlin. The city was in the Soviet sector of the post-war division. But the capital too was divided among the victorious allies, to keep the capital withdemocratic ideals.The divided city not only symbolized the collapse of the German Empire, ofwhich it was the capital, but also became a focus of cold-war tensionsbetween the Communist nations led by the Union of Soviet SocialistRepublics and the group of Western nations led by the United States. TheBerlin wall, a wall separating East and West Berlin was built by the EastGermans in 1961, blocked free access in both directions until 1989; by thetime Germany was unified in October 1990, much of the wall had been torn down. (1)Because of dissatisfaction with the economic and political conditions, an increasingnumber of people left East Germany (German Democratic Republic). from January to thebeginning of August 1961, about 160,000 refugees were counted(2) Also, the internationalpolitical situation was tense. On Nov. 27, 1958 the Soviets delivered their...
