Berlin Then and Now

Using 'then and now' photographs we look at Berlin throughout its many phases. The turbulent years of the Weimar Republic, when Communist and Nazi fought each other for control of the streets, led to the Third Reich with its spectacular scenes of grandeur and glory. However, the 'Thousand Year Reich', and the architectural megalomania it spawned which transformed the centre of Berlin, began to crumble within ten years as the Western Allies dealt out massive retribution from the air. The Soviet land attack which followed finally ground much of what was left of the city into dust. Berlin's position as the focal point of the Cold War in Europe is examined, culminating in 1961 with the fateful division of the city by 'the Wall' which split Berlin into two camps — East and West — for nearly three decades, leaving Berlin an island within a hostile sea. Finally, the story comes full circle with our description of the unbelievable events of 1989-90.

COMPLETE CONTENTS
PART I FROM REICH TO REPUBLIC
Early history
The Weimar Republic

PART II THE THIRD REICH
The First Five Years
Germania
The Road to War

PART III AT WAR
Victory
Berlin Under Attack
July 20, 1944
The Battle for Berlin
The Decisive Battle of the Seelow Heights
Closing in on the Capital
German Counter-Attacks
Into Berlin
Enter Koniev
The German Defences
Rivalry in the Southern Sectors
Soviet Organisation and Tactics
Koniev's Western Flank
Chuikov's Ploy
Koniev's Humiliation
The Western Sectors
The Northern Sectors
The Eastern Sectors
Charlottenburg
The Central Area
The Landwehr Canal
The Reichstag
The Fuhrerbunker
Surrender

PART IV OCCUPATION
Military Government
The Berlin Airlift
The Birth of the Republics
The Berlin Wall

PART V UNIFICATION
The Collapse of the German Democratic Republic
Postscript

Tony Le Tissier
Hardcover 472 pages 1992