Berlin

Berlin was the capital city of Nazi Germany during World War II and is the capital of Germany today. It was divided in the middle of the city by the Berlin Wall, the west was controlled by the Americans, British, and French and the east was under the rule of the Soviets. Berlin was captured by Soviet and a few Polish soldiers.

World War II
Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power in 1933 and began World War II in 1939. World War II began when Hitler wasn't satisfied with the Germany being united with other German states lost after the Versailles Treaty (given back by Britain to prevent another World War), like Austria and Czechoslovakia. He invaded Poland, and so France and Britain declared war on Germany since both countries promised to go to war against Germany if Hitler invaded. Nazi rule destroyed Berlin's Jewish community, which numbered 170,000 before the Nazis came to power. After the program of Kristallnacht in 1938, thousands of the city's German Jews were imprisoned in the nearby Sachsenhausen concentration camp or, in early 1943, were shipped to death camps, such as Auschwitz. Hitler had planned to rebuild Berlin on a massive scale, renaming it "Welthauptstadt Germania"; apart from the Olympic Stadium, however, the plan never got off the ground because of the war. During the war, large parts of Berlin were destroyed in the 1943–45 air raids and during the Battle of Berlin.

The Battle of Berlin was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II and was designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union.

Starting on 16 January 1945, the Red Army breached through the German front as a result of the Vistula–Oder Offensive and rapidly advanced westward as fast as 30–40 kilometres a day, through East Prussia, Lower Silesia, East Pomerania, and Upper Silesia, temporarily halting on a line 60 kilometres east of Berlin along the Oder River. During the offensive, two Soviet fronts (army groups) attacked Berlin from the east and south, while a third overran German forces positioned north of Berlin. The Battle in Berlin lasted from late 20 April 1945 until the morning of 2 May and was one of the bloodiest battles in history.

The first defensive preparations at the outskirts of Berlin were on 20 March, when the newly appointed commander of the Army Group Vistula, General Gotthard Heinrici, correctly anticipated that the main Soviet thrust would be made over the Oder River. Before the main battle in Berlin commenced, the Soviets managed to encircle the city as a result of the smaller Battles of the Seelow Heights and Halbe. During 20 April 1945, the 1st Belorussian Front led by Marshal Georgy Zhukov started shelling Berlin's city centre, while Marshal Ivan Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front had pushed in the north through the last formations of Army Group Centre. The German defences were mainly led by Helmuth Weidling and consisted of several depleted, badly equipped, and disorganised Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS divisions, as well as many Volkssturm and Hitler Youth members. Within the next days, the Soviets were rapidly advancing through the city and were reaching the city centre, conquering the Reichstag on 30 April after fierce fighting.

Before the battle was over, German Führer Adolf Hitler and many of his followers committed suicide. The city's defenders finally surrendered on 2 May. However, fighting continued to the north west, west and south-west of the city until the end of the war in Europe on 8 May (9 May in the Soviet Union) as German units fought westward so that they could surrender to the Western Allies rather than to the Soviets.

After the end of the war in Europe in 1945, Berlin received large numbers of refugees from the Eastern provinces. The victorious powers divided the city into four sectors, analogous to the occupation zones into which Germany was divided. The sectors of the Western Allies (the United States, the United Kingdom, and France) formed West Berlin, while the Soviet sector formed East Berlin.

All four allies retained shared responsibility for Berlin. However, the growing political differences between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union led the latter, which controlled the territory surrounding Berlin, to impose the Berlin Blockade, an economic blockade of West Berlin. The allies successfully overcame the Blockade by airlifting food and other supplies into the city from 24 June 1948 to 11 May 1949. In 1949 the Federal Republic of Germany was founded in West Germany, and the Deutsch Democratic Republic in the East.

50 years later Berlin was reunited after fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 which also in a lot of peoples eyes was the end of Communist oppression in Europe.

In game
Berlin has been featured in two games: Call of Duty and Call of Duty: World at War. In the first Call of Duty, this mission, titled Berlin was the very last mission, in which Alexei Ivanovich Voronin and his unit make their way up to the Reichstag, eliminating all the Germans there and bringing the Soviet flag to the roof. In Call of Duty: World at War, the missions in which you play as the Soviets are about the push to Berlin, which is at the end of World War II. The player takes control of Dimitri Petrenko in the mission Downfall. Petrenko helps to eliminate the remaining SS Honour Guards (Schutzstaffel) in the Reichstag, but is wounded by a German soldier just before he is about to raise the Soviet flag on top of the Reichstag. In which Reznov runs over and starts slashing and stabbing the unfortunate trooper, and starts encouraging Petrenko with comments that he can claim victory for Russia by placing the Hammer and Sickle flag on top of the Reichstag. Despite Petrenko's injuries he manages to replace the Nazi flag with the Soviet flag.

In World at War there is also a multiplayer map called Downfall, based off the campaign level. The largest map in the game, it is also set around the Reichstag Though the map is more like the Heart of the Reich since it is set around the Reichstag instead of inside. Another map Dome, is set on the domed area on top of the Reichstag.

Trivia

 * In reality, it took 2 days to clear out the Reichstag, unlike the mission Downfall (Single-Player).
 * In Heart of the Reich, there are FlaK 88 cannons surrounding the Reichstag, but there were none in reality.
 * In co-op gameplay, if you look near the Reichstag it will be foggy, though in singleplayer it is perfectly clear.
 * It's weird how Reznov knows his way around perfectly while they, in reality, barely knew their way around and they spent their time after clearing and mapping the section.