The borough of Kreuzberg was formed on October 1st in 1920 by the Greater Berlin Act providing for the incorporation of suburbs and the reorganization of Berlin into twenty boroughs. After World War II, Kreuzberg's housing rents were regulated by law which made investments in the city unappealing and as a result, housing became very low quality and cheap, which made the borough a prime target for immigrants coming to Germany. However, starting in the late 1960s, increasing numbers of students, artists, and immigrants began moving to Kreuzberg. Kreuzberg was enclosed by the Berlin Wall on three sides and when it fell, Kreuzberg suddenly found itself in the middle of the city again, which caused the initially cheap rents and high degree of 19th century housing in some parts of the borough to be seen as more attractive as a residential area for a much wider variety of people. This caused the borough to have one of the youngest populations of all European city boroughs.

Kreuzberg has historically been home to Berlin's punk rock movement as well as other alternative subcultures in Germany. Although the majority of Kreuzberg's residents are of German or Turkish decent, some identify more with American or African-American culture, as hip-hop was largely introduced to the youth of Kreuzberg by the children of American servicemen who were stationed nearby until the reunification of Germany. They have an annual festival called the Carnival of Cultures, which celebrates different cultures and heritages with colorful street parades and festivities including street entertainment, food, arts and craft stalls, music and art. Kreuzberg has long been the epicenter of LGBTQ life and arts in Berlin, as it is is home to the Schwules Museum, that was built in the 1980s and is dedicated to preserving, exhibiting, and discovering queer history, art and culture.

Kreuzberg has a deep significance to the history of Berlin and the people who live there. Kreuzberg used to be a very rural and open area of Berlin, however it has now transformed into a very busy and populated area, as it is a popular place for young people to go and live, due to the low rent prices the abundance of restaurants and the popular nightlife scene in the borough. If anything, the borough of Kreuzberg is symbolic of all of Germany as it was initially viewed as an evil place that nobody wanted to live in or be associated with, in particular with everything the country went through under the direct rule of Nazi Germany. Also, around that same time in the borough, nobody wanted to live in Kreuzberg as the houses were cheap and it was just not an overall nice place to live, particularly due to the Berlin Wall being so close to it. however, like Germany as a whole, Kreuzberg was able to emerge from the darkness of the troubled past to become a major bright spot of the country, as it became the leading center of the counterculture movement in Germany. overall, Kreuzberg is very symbolic of Germany, as a whole, who were able to emerge from years in the darkness and into the light by making their city bright and colorful and an overall fun place for young people to live.

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"Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg: Alternative Lifestyles and Creativity" visitberlin.de (Accessed on March 28th, 2019) https://www.visitberlin.de/en/districts/friedrichshain-kreuzberg

Adams, Cathy. "Why Kreuzberg is is still Berlin'sBest Neighbourhood" independent.co.uk (Accessed on March 28th, 2019) https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/berlin-kreuzberg-guide-what-to-do-orania-city-break-holiday-winter-cheap-a8671081.html

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