Berlin! Berlin!

Before Frederick the Great, Berlin was small and provincial, but as Prussian influence was extended by military force, it adopted a vital role and became a city to vie in elegance and splendour with the other capitals of Europe, embarking on a period of hectic cultural activity and expansion. This companion guide takes the reader through the years that saw Napoleon enter Berlin, the great industrialization that gave rise to the workers' movements, and the daring and exciting 1920s, when Marlene Dietrich starred in "Blue Angel", and describes how all that was vibrant and original in the city was stifled and silenced by Hitler and the Nazis. The post-war division was cruel and illogical, and ended only with the opening of the Wall in November 1989, which made way for the new capital of a reunited Germany. Michael Farr's first book, "Vanishing Borders", was shortlisted for the Thomas Cook Award in 1992. He has lived in Germany for more than ten years.