Contemporary history portal »Café Haberland«

Proceeding from plans by Salomon and Georg Haberland, the founder and the director of the Berlinische Boden-Gesellschaft (property development company) a luxurious residential district – Bayerisches Viertel – arose in just a few years in northern Schöneberg. Amidst the decorative squares and front gardens, the developers company erected splendidly furnished rented properties. The district became a centre of attraction for renowned lawyers and doctors, scientists, artists and literary figures, many of whom came from the liberal Jewish middle class.
After the National Socialists came to power, Jewish residents were disenfranchised, forced to emigrate, or murdered. To counter National Socialist expansion during the Second World War, Great Britain and the USA entered a coalition with the Soviet Union. The bombing raids on Berlin destroyed more than half of the properties in Bayerisches Viertel.
After the National Socialist German Reich capitulated, the anti-Hitler coalition fell apart. Germany and Berlin were divided. Reconstruction began. Until German unity in 1990, Rathaus Schöneberg, the famous town hall, was the West Berlin seat of government.