URBAN SPACE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE CITY OF BERLIN
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HISTORICAL CONTEXT
H I S T O R I C A L C O N T E X T − M I G R AT I O N I N BERLIN SINCE WORLD WAR II
Berlin has undergone a colourful series of events, political upheavals, destruction, rebuilding and related attempts to intervene in its development to leave a signature of the respective stage of history, power ambitions and the promotion of visions. The space for the emergence of the current urban structure was also made available by the wartime disruption of natural development in WWII. While this freed up areas for new visions, the city today finds it difficult to find a path to environmental well-being, a way out of the stereotype and impersonality of modern architecture (Moggert 2018). The dynamic development of the city is inscribed in the urban environment in several contexts relevant to the work − historical, architectural-urban and sociological. Thus, Berlin appears as an ideal example of a city for research on the influence of cultural differences on urban space.
During World War II, the central parts of the city were destroyed and with them the growing composition of the urban structure. It was, therefore, necessary to rebuild them and restore the transport infrastructure. Another unfortunate impact of WWII was the division of Germany into four occupation zones and then the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany (hereafter referred to as the FRG) and the German Democratic Republic (hereafter referred to as the GDR). This also led to the division of the city into West Berlin and East Berlin. The problem of the division was exacerbated by the construction of a concrete wall crossing the entire agglomeration along the dividing line and enclosing West Berlin. The wall created an impermeable barrier in the city. The formerly central parts of the city became peripheral, and there was an outflow of businesses and residents from these areas. “The two parts of Berlin began to take shape separately after the wall was built, and each part conceived of urban renewal in its own way the first major differences began to form not only in the perception of the inhabitants but also in the appearance of the city, its attitude to politics and the four powers, culture and economic aid.” (Filingerová 2015, p. 24) “For West Berlin, the construction of the wall entailed considerable employment problems. In one night, it lost up to 60,000 workers who came from the eastern sector to find work.” (Filingerová 2015, p. 26) “Between the founding of the GDR in 1949 and 1961, when the Berlin Wall was built, 3.8 million
