The first Berlin Industrial Exposition was initiated by the Prussian Minister Christian Peter Wilhelm Beuth.

Its chairman Max Ludwig Goldberger took it as a personal aim of life to make a world fair happen in Berlin.

Despite eager proposition around, the national chamber of commerce as well as the council of ministers rejected the idea multiple times due to the financial situation of the Reich.

Even though the emperor Wilhelm II was well known for some grandstanding in his time, he was very opposed to the idea of a world fair.

Berlin ist Großstadt, also muss es auch eine Ausstellung haben.

"On every occasion thereon that the topic was brought up he came to be used to say "Ausstellung isnich" ("Exposition isn't happening"), taking up a wording from the Berlin dialect.

In a kind of defiance action the "Association of Berlin Merchants and Industrialists" (VBKI) took over the tasks and they founded an interest group to prepare the exhibition.

The year 1896 was chosen as it was the 25th anniversary of Berlin as the capital of the Reich so that it could find support by authorities.

The "New Lake" ("Neuer See") in the middle was created as an artificial water basin occupying 10,000 square meters (it was roughly situated where the central area of the Soviet War Memorial (Treptower Park) is now).

One could use a balloon to look at the place from above that had also a large water slide, the American Theatre and long series of other funfair rides.

The German Colonial Exhibition (Deutsche Kolonial-Ausstellung) showed recreations of villages from East Africa, Togo, Cameroons and New Guinea complete with more than 100 natives that were brought to Berlin for the real authentic impression.

[1] In the "Kairo" section the small bazaar streets of the Cairo Old Town were recreated complete with an Arabic Café and a mosque.

Otto Lilienthal was showing his steam engines - he was not allowed to demonstrate his airplanes but he gave a lecture on practical flight experiments on 16 June.