Quote:
Originally Posted by staff
Wasn't Berlin one of the largest cities in the world prior to WWI?
If it wasn't for the two world wars, then Berlin would probably be of similar size as London and Paris today, at least. Probably more, considering the population of Germany, and the fact that it assumably wouldn't be as decentralized as today if it weren't for all the shit that happened during the 20th century.
I'm glad Berlin is still one of the greatest cities on the planet though.
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I think that's possible, but not certain. And I point point to Rome as an allegory. Berlin and Rome are smaller than London or Paris because Germany and Italy weren't united as nation-states until the latter half of the 19th century, while London and Paris had been the capitals of major powers for centuries.
One could argue that the events of the 20th century prevented Berlin from becoming another Paris (and if Germany had won the Second World War, it would have been at least that big). But Italy wasn't as badly ravaged by the wars, and Rome still shares importance in Italy with other cities that were capitals of Italian kingdoms in a way that London and Paris do not. I think Berlin would certainly be bigger without the World Wars, but it wouldn't have come to completely dominate Germany. Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne (and the Ruhr generally), Stuttgart... there are just too many urban centers and historical capitals in Germany.