The battle of Berlin was essentially the beginning of the end of the european campaign of World War II. Led by the Soviet Union, the battle of Berlin was the most consequential defeat suffered by the Nazi forces, during which their leaders, Adolf Hitler and Josef Goebbels, committed suicide. The battle raged from April 20th, 1945 to May 2nd, 1945. The Soviets had encircled the city of Berlin with three fronts, using one to push in from the south, while a second shelled the city center and the third overtook the Nazi forces to the north. While many of the soldiers surrendered on the 2nd of May, fighting continued in small pockets until the end of the european campaign a week later (May 8th/9th). Interestingly enough, some of the fighting that continued was from Nazi troops fighting westward in order to surrender to the less brutal Western Allies instead of the feared Soviet forces. As a sign of victory, the Soviet Union placed their flag upon the roof of the Reichstag (below), the main political building of Berlin and one of the more significant symbols of the Third Reich.
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Fall of the Berlin Wall
On August 12th, 1961, citizens of East Berlin and West Berlin went to sleep, thinking they would be able to see their friends and family the next day. Had they known what would take place that next morning, it is hard to believe they would not have run away or moved together. On August 13th, 1961, the communistic East Germany government built a wall to divide their communist society from the western-influenced society of West Germany and West Berlin. The Berlin Wall was arguably the most iconic symbol of communism and its oppressive reign over many nations of eastern Europe and Asia. Over the next 28 years, numerous East Berlin citizens would attempt to sneak across. Few would succeed. Most would die trying. However, this would all change on November 9th, 1989. The East Germany government announced that it would allow citizens to freely visit West Berlin. Many climbed the wall and began to tear it down (below), a task that would be completed before the end of 1990. The fall of the Berlin Wall not only marked the end of oppression for East Germans, but also the end of the Cold War and the communist hold on Europe and most of Asia.
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2006 FIFA World Cup Finals
It was July 9th, 2006. For the last month or so, 32 soccer teams representing 32 countries worked toward the dream of winning the World Cup. Half would be eliminated after the first three games on their schedules. On that day, in Berlin's Olympiastadion [Olympic Stadium] (below), only two teams would find their dreams 90 minutes away. This time, they were the national teams of Italy and France. After two early goals (9' by France's Zinedine Zidane, 17' by Italy's Marco Materazzi) were scored, the ball was knocked back and forth by the two teams in a very evenly contested match-up. As the game progressed, it became clear the game may very well enter extra time. Delaying their dreams by another 30 minutes for the extra time, France and Italy continued to battle. After a game and dream-saving stop by Italy's goalkeeper, Gianluigi Buffon, anxiety began to set in on the players and tempers were flaring. Both sides had little patience for anything but victory. This led to one of the more memorable moments from the 2006 World Cup. Zidane was being covered by Materazzi towards the end of extra time and took the opportunity to say a few words to Materazzi. However, Materazzi did not appreciate what was being said and decided to headbutt Zidane in the chest in retaliation with the ball nowhere in their vacinity. This was an off-the-ball incident and led to Materazzi's immediate ejection. When asked later what led him to take such action, Materazzi explained to the media that Zidane was speaking rudely of his mother and Materazzi was greatly offended. Shortly after, extra time ended and the fate of the World Cup fell to a penalty shoot-out. Winning 5-3, Italy took home their first title since beating West Germany in the 1982 World Cup.
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To have the 2006 World Cup Finals hosted in Berlin was monumental, as it was the first time the reunited nation had hosted a large-scale international event of this magnitude. In addition, it was the first time since Hitler's reign that Berlin itself had played host to an event of that magnitude. It was not the first event hosted in Germany since the 1972 Munich Olympics, during which Palestinian terrorists took 11 Israeli athlete hostage, eventually killing them and a German police officer. Munich hosted the 1974 World Cup Finals, but security at the 2006 Finals was most likely under less scrutiny than the 1974 Finals.
I anxiously await my second trip to Germany and all of the amazing opportunities I will have over there to learn and grow as a student, person and world traveler, but also the opportunities I will have over there to just enjoy everything Germany has to offer.
