Part 2/8:
The ICC was born out of the ideological rivalry between East and West Berlin during the height of the Cold War. In 1979, as East Germany constructed the Palace of the Republic, a building designed to showcase the strength of the communist regime, West Berlin hastened to respond with an equally grand structure. The result was the ICC, a statement of Western ideals, celebrating capitalism, modernity, and progress in stark contrast to its Eastern counterpart.