berlin, city in northeastern germany, capital of a united germany from 1871 to 1945 and again since 1990. it lies on the flatlands of the north german plain at the confluence of several rivers and amid many lakes. the citys slight elevation made it a site for human settlement even in prehistoric times. berlin has a population of about 3,454,200 1992 estimate and an area of approximately 889 sq km 343 sq mi.
after world war ii 1939-1945 berlin, badly damaged during the war, was situated within the german democratic republic gdr also known as east germany. the city was subsequently partitioned into east berlin and west berlin. the divided city not only symbolized the collapse of the german empire, of which it was the capital, but also became a focus of cold war tensions between the communist nations led by the union of soviet socialist republics ussr and the group of western nations led by the united states. the berlin wall, a barrier separating east and west berlin b...