The capital and largest city of Germany, in the northeast part of the country. Founded in the 13th century, it was the capital of the kingdom of Prussia from 1701 and the capital of the German Empire (1871-1918), the Weimar Republic (1919-1932), and the Third Reich (1933-1945). The city was divided between 1945 and 1990 into East Berlin and West Berlin, which division grew out of the zones of occupation established at the end of World War II. The Berlin Wall, a wire and concrete barrier, was erected by the East German government in August 1961 and dismantled in November 1989. Population: 3,400,000.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
