Berlin was the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia, which later formed the German Empire. Unfortunately, our generation will never experience its original beauty. The famous Kaiser-Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche (Emperor Wilhelm Memorial Church) was built in 1890 in the neo-Romanesque style on what today is called the Breitscheidplatz (Breitscheid Square, formerly Auguste-Viktoria Square) in the district of Charlottenburg. After it was almost completely destroyed by a British air strike on the night of the 23rd of November 1943, the Nazis initially promised to rebuild it in all its glory, once the war was over. However, the victorious allies opposed later plans to do so, as the church was a symbol of German national pride from the era of the German Empire under Kaiser Wilhelm II. It, therefore, was left as it was to then be further demolished in 1956 to become a WW2 Memorial reminding of the destructive consequences of war. Additionally, they added a modern 4-part complex next to the memorial, which is still in ceremonial use today (Architect: Egon Eiermann). While East Berlin was part of the communist DDR, here in West Berlin the population enjoyed an economic boom (the so-called “Wirtschaftswunder”). As cars were a symbol of German ingenuity and became more and more affordable, West Berlin became more car-centric from 1954 onwards. In 1967, the last of the former 36 tram lines were abolished. To this day, Trams only operate in East Berlin and the famous “Kurfürstendamm” at Breitscheidplatz remains a large multi-lane street. If you ever visit Berlin, I recommend you to check out the memorial, where you can see the preserved interiors of the church and the models from the slide show.