Starting from the era of Prussian kings 17011864 through the unification of Germany under Bismarck 18641871 we see how Berlin changed throughout history After its descent into World War I the Weimar Republic emerged with its combination of cultural and artistic advances alongside political and economic instability before coming to an abrupt end with the arrival of Hitler and the Nazis

After Germanys defeat in WWII Berlin was divided into four sectors at the 1945 Potsdam conference Eventually it became simply split between free West Berlin and the Sovietoccupied East a symbol for the Cold War The city endured a historic airlift as an island city behind the Iron Curtain The division would last almost half a century symbolized by the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961