The period from 1939 to 1945 wasn’t exactly one of humanity’s finest moments. The Second World War ravaged most of Europe, parts of North Africa and Japan and claimed countless lives. When the western and Soviet forces took Berlin, the city was already a ruin, thanks to the allied bombing. After Germany surrendered, the allied forces retained their troops in the region until the reconstruction started. We found some footage on this Reddit thread , where you can see what Berlin looked like back then. Lucky for us, the footage was well preserved, so much so that the quality of the video might even surprise you.