Berlin lies in northeastern Germany, east of the River Elbe, that once constituted, together with the River (Saxon or Thuringian) Saale (from their confluence at Barby onwards), the eastern border of the Frankish Realm. While the Frankish Realm was primarily inhabited by Germanic tribes like the Franks and the Saxons, the regions east of the border rivers were inhabited by Slavic tribes. This is why mo…

By war's end up to a third of Berlin had been destroyed by concerted Allied air raids, Soviet artillery, and street fighting. The so-called Stunde Null—zero hour—marked a new beginning for the city. Greater Berlin was divided into four sectors by the Allies under the London Protocol of 1944, as follows:
• the American sector (210.8 km ), consisting of the boroughs of Neukölln, Kreuz…