The cold war
The Soviets try in 1948 to starve the western sectors' residents by a blockade, but the allies organize an airlift, and put an end to it.
In 1949 East Berlin becomes the capital of the new state of East Germany. In 1953 Soviet and East German soldiers and tanks quell an uprising in East Berlin as well as in all East Germany.
In 1961 the East German regime builds the Berlin wall which blocks the passage of East German residents to West Berlin.
In 26th of June US President John F. Kennedy visits Berlin and declares: "Ich bin ein Berliner".
In 1987 both parts of Berlin celebrate its 750th anniversary. US president Ronald Reagan visits Berlin and challenges the soviet secretary general Michael Gorbachev into tearing the wall down.
The fall of the wall and the renewal of Berlin
After the fall of the Soviet Empire in 1989 the Berlin wall falls as well, and a year later Germany and Berlin are reunited. During the period of the cold war, the West German government sits in Bonn. It continues to sit there until 1999, when it returns to Berlin.
In 1996 the residents of Brandenburg veto in a referendum a proposal to unite their federal state with Berlin.
In 1996 the massive reconstruction of Berlin comes to its peak as the Potsdam Square is inaugurated in the former no mans land between East and West Berlin. The city begins a new era of prosperity.
