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Introduction - People, Place, Identity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 February 2025

Mary Fulbrook
Mary Fulbrook
Affiliation:
University College London
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Summary

Now capital of the Federal Republic of Germany, and playing a leading role in Europe and the wider world, Berlin has risen from insignificant origins in two small medieval trading centres on swampy soil at the confluence of two rivers, the Spree and the Havel, in the Brandenburg marches (or Mark) in the centre of Europe. This chapter introduces the notion of a key moment, and outlines the three elements guiding the book: people, or changing demographic profiles; place, or the ways in which the size, shape, and principal functions of the city changed over time; and identity, or the ways in which Berliners and others imagined the city and constructed an ever-changing present in light of selected aspects of the past and contested aspirations for the future.

Keywords

immigrationdemographytopographySpreeHavelBrandenburg
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Chapter
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Berlin , pp. 1 - 8
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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