ABSTRACT
The first chapter begins with an overview of developments in Berlin and Europe from the 1945 Battle of Berlin to city's administrative split into West and East in 1948. During this time, services to provide the necessities of life had to be re-established in the ruined city. Joint quadripartite occupation by the victorious Allies fractured during this arduous process as the Soviet Union and the Western Allies led by the United States disagreed over the fundamentals of postwar reconstruction. Berlin's situation made the depiction of the city as the Outpost of Freedom in the opening Cold War one of the possible narratives to rebrand this unique urban center. The chapter also introduces competing narratives focused on the city's previous incarnations as capital of the Wilhelmine Empire, the Weimar Republic, and the Third Reich. In addition, it outlines how a modicum of routine was established after the apocalyptic Battle of Berlin and explores the repercussions of increasingly deteriorating inter-Allied relations and the conclusions drawn by Berliners from this process.
