Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
WWI ends on 11 November with Germany's capitulation, following the resignation of
Kaiser Wilhelm II and his escape to Holland. The Prussian monarchy is dead.
1919
The Spartacist Revolt led by Liebknecht, Luxemburg and Pieck is violently suppressed
and ends with the murder of Liebknecht and Luxemburg by right-wing Freikorps
troops.
1920
On 1 October Berlin becomes Germany's largest city after seven independent towns,
59 villages and 27 estates are amalgamated into a single administrative unit. The pop-
ulation reaches 3.8 million.
1920s
Berlin evolves into a cultural metropolis, exerting a pull on leading artists, scientists
and philosophers of the day, including Einstein, Brecht and Otto Dix.
1921
The world's first highway - called AVUS - opens in the Grunewald after eight years of
construction.
1923
Berlin-Tempelhof Airport opens and soon becomes one of Europe's most important
airports, along with Croydon in London and Le Bouget in Paris.
1923
The Golden Twenties show their dark side when inflation reaches its peak and a loaf of
bread costs 3.5 million marks - an entire wheelbarrow's worth.
1924
Germany's first electric traffic light starts regulating the chaos around Potsdamer
Platz.
1929
The Great Depression hits Berlin, leaving half a million people unemployed. Thirteen
members of the National Socialist German Workers Party are elected to city parlia-
ment.
