Berlin: The Story of a City

Join Barney White-Spunner as he explores the history of Berlin, a unique city whose past is ripe with excitement, tension, contrast and contradiction.

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Throughout its history, Berlin has been a city of tensions. Factors as varied as geography, religion, culture and politics have inspired conflicting identities and attitudes, fostering an atmosphere of excitement, anticipation and nervousness. 

Few European cities have suffered from war as much as Berlin has, and for half of the 20th century it was occupied by the Allied powers. 

Join Barney White-Spunner as he explores this extraordinary city, its dynasty, its people and the apparent conflicts embedded in its history in a wide-ranging talk based on his new book, 'Berlin: The Story of A City'.

Barney White-Spunner has lived in Germany for several years and spent many months in Berlin. His previous books are: ‘Horse Guards’ (2006), the story of the British Household Cavalry; ‘Of Living Valour’ (2015), the story of the British soldiers who fought at Waterloo; and ‘Partition’ (2017), an international bestseller about Indian independence and the creation of Pakistan in 1947.

This talk is part of our events programme for the exhibition 'Foe to Friend: The British Army in Germany since 1945'.