Central Berlin was in ruins after the Red Army completed the Allied victory over Nazi Germany in an intense fight for the capital in May 1945. After decades of division and its revival as the capital of a reunited, democratic Germany, the city is now transformed, blending painstakingly restored buildings with modern architecture. Berlin, the epicenter of Adolf Hitler's power, was the ultimate prize as the Allies closed in from east and west on the disintegrating German defenses in the final stage of World War II.