History Series / BabylonBerlin

Not to be confused with either ''Series/BabylonFive'' or ''Series/{{Babylon}}'' (which has some quite similar themes).

** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Litten Hans Litten]] was a real attorney working for the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rote_Hilfe Rote Hilfe]], and would later commit suicide in Dachau concentration camp.

** [[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Litten Hans Litten]] was a real attorney working for the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rote_Hilfe Rote Hilfe]], and would later commit suicide in Dachau concentration camp.

** Charlotte unwittingly helps bust the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sklarek_scandal Sklarek brothers]].

** In Season 4, Wendt aids [[spoiler:the NSDAP in putting down the Stennes revolt by authorising the arming of the SS]].

* BeenThereShapedHistory: Charlotte unwittingly helps bust the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sklarek_scandal Sklarek brothers]].

** [[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walther_Stennes Walther Stennes]] was a real SA leader and dissenter, and would later go into exile, becoming a Kuomintang officer.

* AnachronismStew: Very little, since the makers [[ShownTheirWork invested a lot into historical accuracy]].
** The Alexanderplatz of the series features some prominent buildings that didn't exist yet in 1929.
** The steam locomotive they used is a DRG Class 52, a class that wasn't built until WW II and looks very out of place with its post-war, computer-friendly (down to the check digit), vehicle number.
** The famous three-engine Junkers Ju 52/3m plane featured in an episode didn't fly until 1932 (though, admittedly, it ''is'' stated to be an early prototype).
** The silent movie ''People on Sunday'' was only released in 1930, yet it is already depicted as playing in cinemas.
** The Soviet secret police use Tokarev-type pistols, which wouldn't be designed until 1930 and wouldn't be issued until 1931. This later becomes a plot point when Ernst Gennat claims that the Soviets are the only ones to use such large-calibre weapons, except for the Swedes who use it to hunt elk (the 7.62mm round fired by the Tokarev is in reality fairly wimpy even by pistol standards, and would be all but useless against an elk).
** In season 2, Gereon performs CPRCleanPrettyReliable on Charlotte after she got TrappedInASinkingCar. CPR didn't become common practice until the 1960s.
** Set in 1929, the show features a performance of ''Gloomy Sunday'' by Hungarian composer Rezső Seress. The song was composed in 1933 and translated into other languages some years later.

Not to be confused with either ''Series/BabylonFive'' or ''Series/{{Babylon}}'' (which has some quite similar themes). For Anglosphere equivalents to the show, see ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire'' and ''Series/PeakyBlinders''.

** Walther Stennes’ attempt to to lead the Berlin SA in rebellion against the NSDAP leadership in Munich is doomed to fail, and will end with the [[ThePurge Night Of The Long Knives]] and Stennes’ exile.

* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: Helga decides to have an abortion upon getting pregnant and having a poor reception from the father, Gereon, who doubts his paternity, denying her his support. This only happens after much contemplation and reluctance on her part. Further, the abortionist she goes to is portrayed sympathetically, as a supportive and motherly woman. It's also somewhat implied that Charlotte has had abortions in the past, since she also knows the abortionist's address beforehand (or knows women that have). In either case this wouldn't be surprising, given her past as a sex worker. Overall, this is portrayed neutrally.

** Voss the HangingJudge is likely based on the lawyer [[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Voss_(Jurist) Hermann Voss]]. Like the show's Voss, he was a working in Berlin, a [[UsefulNotes/TheStudentenverbindung fraternity student]], a [[BrotherhoodOfFunnyHats Freemason]], an antisemite, and he would later become an SA member and Nazi ideologist

** Voss the HangingJudge is likely based on the lawyer [[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Voss_(Jurist) Hermann Voss]]. Like the show's Voss, he was a working in Berlin, a [[UsefulNotes/TheStudentenverbindung fraternity student]], a [[BrotherhoodOfFunnyHats Freemason]], a racialist, and would later become an SA member and Nazi ideologist

** [[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Helfers Rosa Helfers]], the compassionate warden of Barnimstraße Prison, was a real prison officer and minor SPD politician.

* BeenThereChangedHistory: Charlotte unwittingly helps bust the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sklarek_scandal Sklarek brothers]].

** [[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walther_Stennes Walther Stennes]] was a real SA leader and dissenter.

Over the course of the series, Rath and his team must contend with Trotskyist rebels, Soviet government agents, Socialist rabble-rousers, scheming public officials, corrupt business magnates, ruthless Berliner gangsters, renegade right-wing military officers, and, of course, [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany Nazis]] - [[EnemyCivilWar in more than one flavour]].

Over the course of the series, Rath and his team must contend with Trotskyist rebels, Soviet government agents, Socialist rabble-rousers, scheming public officials, corrupt business magnates, ruthless Berliner gangsters, renegade right-wing military officers, and, of course, the rise of [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany National Socialism]].

Three seasons have aired so far, being co-produced by Creator/Sky1 and [[UsefulNotes/GermanTVStations ARD]]. It has been the most expensive non-English television production of its time. The series streams in the US on Creator/{{Netflix}}. A fourth season is currently planned to air in late 2022.

* HollywoodLaw:
** A judge is at one point addressed as "Euer Ehren", which is largely an anglicism deriving from "Your Honour". The proper way to address a judge in German is "Herr Vorsitzender" ("Mr. President" or "Mr. Chairman").

* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: Helga decides to have an abortion upon getting pregnant and having a poor reception from the father, Gereon, who doubts his paternity, denying her his support. This only happens after much contemplation and reluctance on her part. Further, the abortionist she goes to is portrayed sympathetically, as a supportive and motherly woman. It's also somewhat implied that Charlotte has had abortions in the past, since she also knows the abortionist's address beforehand (or knows women that have). In either case this wouldn't be surprising, given her past as a sex worker. Overall, this is portrayed neutrally.

* NiceHat: ''Everybody'' sports one, which, given the era, isn't surprising. The [[https://www.welt.de/img/kultur/medien/mobile169133119/4932508627-ci102l-w1024/Babylon-Berlin-11.jpg shako helmets of the Berlin police]] (which were used up until the 1960s in both Berlins), however, deserve a special mention.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: There are numerous subplots, each fitted with a long list of characters.
* MacGuffin: The film that Gereon is after.

Three seasons have aired so far, being co-produced by Creator/Sky1 and [[UsefulNotes/GermanTVStations ARD]]. It has been the most expensive non-English television production of its time. The series streams in the US on Creator/{{Netflix}}. A fourth season is currently planned to air early in 2022.