The first Berlin International Film Festival, known as the Berlinale, opened in West Berlin in June 1951. It was organised with the support of the American occupation authorities and was intended to present Berlin as a showcase of the free world during the early years of the Cold War. The idea came from the American film officer Oscar Martay, with the German film historian Alfred Bauer as its first director. The opening film was Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca, and the main prize was named the Golden Bear after the city's heraldic animal. The festival was moved from summer to February in 1978, and it is now ranked with Cannes and Venice among the most prominent film festivals in the world.
Before and after
- 24 April 1951Sakuragichō train fire
- 29 April 1951Death of Ludwig Wittgenstein
- 23 May 1951Birth of Anatoly Karpov
- 3 June 1951Founding of Socialist International
- 6 June 1951First edition of Berlin International Film Festival
- 19 June 1951Birth of Ayman al-Zawahiri
- 16 July 1951Publication of The Catcher in the Rye
- 21 July 1951Birth of Robin Williams
- 10 August 1951Birth of Juan Manuel Santos
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The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.