Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU
All Graduate Plan B and other Reports Graduate Studies
5-2018
Stories Behind the Berlin Wall: Lesson Modules
Nicholas Redmon Utah State University
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Recommended Citation Redmon, Nicholas, "Stories Behind the Berlin Wall: Lesson Modules" (2018). All Graduate Plan B and other Reports. 1200. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/gradreports/1200
This Creative Project is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Plan B and other Reports by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ! 1!
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Stories!Behind!the!Berlin!Wall:!Lesson!Modules!
Nicholas!Redmon!
Utah!State!University!
November!18,!2017!
! ! ! 2!
Introduction!to!Lesson!Module!
This!website!is!a!collection!of!primary!documents!focused!in!three!pivotal!years,!
1961,!or!at!the!construction!of!the!Wall,!1980,!almost!two!decades!into!the!midst!of!
German!Democratic!Republic!(GDR!or!East!Germany)!since!the!Wall’s!erection,!and!1989,! as!the!Wall!is!brought!down.!This!component!on!the!website!is!a!lesson!module,!which!is!a! road!map!for!teachers!and!students!studying!what!life!was!like!in!the!GDR,!behind!the!
Berlin!Wall.!These!lesson!plans!include!learning!objectives,!primary!documents!with! interpretations!and!prompts,!secondary!literature!discussions!and!debates,!bibliographic! links!for!further!learning,!interactive!lesson!ideas,!and!are!structured!as!day!by!day! curriculum.!Feel!free!to!use!these!lesson!plans!in!any!form!that!benefits!your!classroom,! whether!in!whole!or!by!the!utilization!of!specific!primary!documents!or!day!plans.!
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Primary!Source!Analysis!!
This!website!was!created!for!two!purposes:!1)!Allow!—students!and!individuals! interested!in!the!Cold!War!and!the!Berlin!Wall!to!analyze!the!events!with!a!variety!of! primary!and!secondary!sources!in!an!interactive!method;!2)!To!foster!an!understanding!of! how!to!analyze!primary!documents!like!newspapers,!photographs,!and!oral!histories!to! make!sense!of!them!and!look!for!elements!such!as!bias!and!objectives.!There!are!essential! questions!and!worksheets!tied!to!the!documents!to!aid!in!their!evaluation.!!
The!Library!of!Congress!explains,!“Primary!sources!are!the!raw!materials!of!history.”!
Any!primary!document!such!as!a!journal!entry,!postcard,!or!newspaper!article,!has!a!reason! for!its!creation.!These!documents!help!us!understand!the!complexities!of!the!past!and!can! give!us!a!greater!depth!of!knowledge!from!bygone!events.!When!students!understand!the! intricacies!of!primary!documents,!and!their!relationship!to!past!events,!they!gain!critical! thinking!skills!and!the!ability!to!analyze.!!
Please!enjoy!this!website!and!subsequent!lesson!modules,!and!use!them!to!empower! our!rising!generation!to!be!able!to!think!critically.!
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Format!of!Lesson!Modules!
Here!is!a!skeleton!of!how!each!module!section!looks:!
Pivotal(Year:!Example!of!1961!
Essential(Questions:!These!are!the!main!overarching!themes!inquired!about!in!this!era.!
These!questions!are!asked!of!students!several!times!to!answer!throughout!the!modules!
using!primary!documents—!to!effectively!respond!to!the!questions.!!
Learning(Outcome:!This!is!the!main!goal!of!what!students!should!know!at!the!end!of!
the!lesson!unit!module.!!!
Main(Project:!Each!unit!will!specify!a!performance!task!or!assessment!to!assess!if!the!
learning!outcome!was!met.!A!short!essay!section!is!included!to!ask!students!to!effectively!
answer!the!essential!questions!by!referencing!primary!documents.!!
Unit(Days:!After!the!before!mentioned!essentials!and!outcomes,!there!are!sequential! daily!lessons!and!primary!documents!tied!to!them.!The!daily!lessons!are!formatted!to!fit!an! average!60`minute!classroom!length.!!
Primary(and(Secondary(Documents:!The!actual!documents!can!be!found!after!the! bibliography!section!in!the!appendix!correlating!with!their!name!(example:!*Photograph!
#3,!*Video!#2).!Students!will!analyze!these!and!when!prompted,!fill!out!a!primary! document!analysis!worksheet!and!answer!essential!questions—!
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! ! ! 5!
1961!
Module!#1!
Essential(Questions:!How!and!why!was!the!Berlin!Wall!constructed?!How!did!the!Wall!
disrupt!the!lives!of!families,!workers,!the!economy!and!transportation,!and!Germany!
politically?!!
Learning(Outcome:!Students!can!explain!why!the!Berlin!Wall!was!constructed!and!its!
impact!on!the!lives!it!divided.!The!focus!of!this!module!is!the!disturbance!on!Germans!when!
the!Wall!solidified!the!boundary!between!East!and!West.!!
Main(Project((Assessment):!The!assessment!is!a!proctored!test,!with!multiple!choice,!
short!answer!sections,!and!a!reflection!section!after!reading!a!primary!account.!!
Note(on(Unit:!I!suggest!the!topics!that!would!be!appropriate!to!cover!and!include!
primary!resources,!but!do!not!give!word!for!word!recantations!of!what!to!say!for!
presentations.!This!means!I!have!not!created!a!test!for!this!unit’s!assessments,!as!I!am!
100%!sure!what!important!vocabulary!and!concepts!you!will!exactly!cover!in!this!unit.!I!do!
this!to!allow!for!creativity!in!your!classroom.!I!have!included!PowerPoints,!worksheets,!and!
notes!under!my!Links!page!on!the!website!if!you!do!want!more.!Additional!resources!are!
provided…!
Day(1:!!This!is!a!presentation!of!Cold!War!beginnings!and!why!Germany!was!divided.!
Students!learn!about!the!true!reasons!the!GDR!built!the!Wall.!Key!points!in!presentation:!1)!
Focus!on!the!3.5!million!drain!of!GDR!citizens!from!East!to!West.!2)!Explain!the!Night!of!the!
Barbed!Wire,!aka!the!overnight!building!of!the!Wall.!The!night!of!August!12,!1961,! thousands!of!border!troops,!police,!fireman,!and!others!were!stationed!along!the!border!of!
West!Berlin,!and!began!creating!a!barbed!wire!and!brick!fence!border!between!the!two.! ! 6!
Citizens!had!been!fleeing!from!the!GDR!to!the!Federal!Republic!of!Germany!(BRD)!since!the!
end!of!World!War!II!in!1945.!It!is!estimated!that!over!3.5!million!citizens!fled!for!financial,!
family,!political,!or!other!reasons!to!the!west.!The!East!German!government!debated,!
sought!advice!from!Moscow,!and!decided!to!build!the!barricade!to!stop!the!outflow!of!
young!working!age!citizens!from!their!country.!!
Day(2:!Secondary!Source!Analysis!Day.!Students!will!read!the!argument!put!forth!by!
the!author(s)!and!assess!its!accuracy!or!applicability.!There!are!two!secondary!sources!to!
analyze.!The!main!question!students!should!try!to!answer!after!reading!the!literature,!is!
how!was!the!Berlin!Wall!was!portrayed!in!East!and!Western!media?!!
*Secondary!Source!#1:!Burned!Bridge!by!Edith!Sheffer.!!
This!text!analyzes!how!East!and!West!Germans!created!the!division!before!the!Wall!
was!created!and!how!through!discourse!it!was!maintained.!Sheffer!investigates!the!city!of!
Coburg,!which!is!the!largest!population!of!East!and!West!Germans!in!a!city!outside!of!
Berlin,!and!their!allegiances!and!interests!that!divided!when!the!Soviet!and!Americans!
occupied!it!after!World!War!II.!!
Day(3:!Students!will!learn!about!the!transportation!disruptions!caused!by!the!Wall!–! such!as!highways!cut!off,!subways!traveling!by!“ghost!stations,”!etc.!Discuss!the!impact!on! jobs,!like!those!who!worked!in!the!West!but!lived!in!the!East.!!
*Photograph!#1:!Map!of!the!U`Bahn!in!Berlin.!!
Analysis:!This!map!is!of!the!Subway!rail!lines!in!East!Germany.!Let’s!take!the!
Nordbahnhof!stop!for!example,!to!understand!more!about!the!Wall’s!impact!on! transportation!in!Berlin:!The!Nordbahnhof!was!a!heavily!guarded!ghost!station!where!no! trains!stopped!from!1961!to!1989.!Moreover,!it!contained!both!an!exit!to!East!Berlin! ! 7!
(Invalidenstraße)!and!one!to!West!Berlin!(Gartenstraße),!which!made!it!ideally!suited!for!
escape!attempts.!A!number!of!barriers!were!built!to!prevent!people!from!escaping.!To!get!
from!Invalidenstraße!(East)!across!to!the!Gartenstraße!exit!(West),!a!fugitive!had!to!break!
through!six!walls!and!a!steel!grate.!These!barriers—made!obsolete!in!1989!after!the!Wall! fell!and!the!Socialist!Unity!Party!of!Germany!(SED)!government!had!been!deposed—were! gradually!removed!and!the!station!was!re`opened!on!September!1,!1990.!!
After!students!analyzed!the!Subway!map!and!understood!an!explanation!the!impact! on!the!transportation,!take!the!rest!of!the!class!time!to!analyze!several!primary! photographs!from!the!building!of!the!Wall.!Students!shall!write!reflection!paragraphs!on! why!these!photographs!were!taken,!what!stories!they!telling,!and!analyze!why!the!wall!was! built?!
*Photographs!#2`5!are!located!in!the!Appendix.!
Analysis!of!Photographs!of!Wall!(Photographs(from(“Die(Mauer:(Fakten,(Bilder,(
Schicksale”(by(Kai(Diekmann):!It!was!unknown!throughout!West!and!East!Berlin!that! citizens!would!wake!up!August!13,!1961!to!be!divided!by!a!crudely!built!brick!and!barbed! wire!wall.!Soon!after,!in!the!coming!weeks!and!months,!the!Wall!slowly!took!on!its!elevated! menacing!form.!Review!the!photographs!and!try!to!interpret!the!reasons!for!the! photographs!being!taken!and!what!impact!the!Wall!had!on!Berliner!lives.!!
Essential!Questions:!Write(2Q3(sentences(for(these(questions(using(this(primary( documents(as(evidence(towards(the(answers.((!
1)!How!did!the!Wall!disrupt!the!lives!of!families,!workers,!the!economy!and! transportation,!and!Germany?!!
2)!Why!was!the!Wall!built?! ! 8!
Day(4:!This!day!shall!be!a!presentation!and!subsequent!analysis!on!the!Berlin!Wall’s!
fortifications!through!time.!You!should!discuss!how!the!government!created!the!Wall!
overnight!without!the!consent!of!the!public,!and!who!was!involved!in!its!erection.!Explain!
how!there!have!been!accounts!of!soldiers!abandoning!their!posts.!This!will!be!an!
investigation!on!the!official!reasons!for!the!creation!of!the!Wall!and!the!reactions!to!it.!!
Start!class!with!the!video!clip!from!Dieter!Zander’s!video!interview.!!
The!video!is!listed!in!Appendix!titled!*Video!Interview!#1.!!
Dieter!lived!in!Brandenburg!an!der!Havel!with!his!wife!and!two!children.!He!was!
active!in!Die!Kirche!der!Heiligen!der!Letzten!Tage!(LDS!Church),!as!the!District!Präsident!of!
the!Berlin!area,!and!was!visiting!a!church!gathering!in!Berlin`Spandau!the!evening!before!
the!Wall!was!built.!His!parents!were!tending!his!children!as!he!and!his!wife!were!in!
Spandau.!They!were!on!their!way!back!later!that!night!and!witnessed!the!Wall!
preparations.!Watch!the!video!clip!and!discuss!how!quickly!the!Wall!was!built,!literally!
overnight.!!
Students!will!explore!the!notion!that!this!Wall!was!the!“Anti`Fascist!Fortification”!by!
reading!*Primary!Document!#1,!an!excerpt!from!the!newspaper!Berliner(Zeitung(on!August!
14,!1961.!!
Summary:!The!Berliner(Zeitung!is!a!newspaper!established!in!1945!in!East!Germany.!
After!the!reunification!of!Germany,!it!has!still!been!one!of!the!prominent!newspapers!in!the!
Berlin`Brandenburg!region.!This!particular!issue!of!the!Berliner(Zeitung!is!explaining!the! reaction!and!justification!for!the!Berlin!Wall!being!built!the!day!prior.!Since!this!newspaper! is!an!East!German!publication,!it!focuses!on!the!wall!being!a!measure!necessary,!and!that! the!people!were!pleased!with!its!establishment.!! ! 9!
Explore!the!western!perspective!that!the!Wall!reduced!freedom!by!reading!*Primary!
Document!#2,!excerpt!from!the!newspaper!Morgen(Post,!from!August!15,!1961.!
Summary:!The!Berliner!Morgen(Post!is!the!second!most!read!newspaper!publication!
in!Berlin,!and!has!been!around!since!1898.!This!periodical!is!one!of!the!main!periodicals!
scrutinizing!the!Berlin!Wall!from!the!western!side.!The!headquarters!for!the!Berliner!
Morgen(Post!were!in!West!Germany,!and!West!Germany!became!isolated!from!the!rest!of!
the!country!in!1961,!with!the!construction!of!the!Wall.!This!issue!is!the!first!mention!of!the!
Wall’s!construction,!which!explains!the!economical!impact!and!it!is!a!call!to!the!world!to!
react.!
*Primary!Document!#3:!Letter!from!Walter!Ulbricht!to!Nikita!Khrushchev!in!
September!1961,!explaining!how!the!process!of!buildings!the!Wall!went.!Students!should! analyze!who!was!ultimately!responsible!for!the!Wall.!
Answer!the!following!questions!for!each!primary!document!and!complete!a!primary! source!analysis!worksheet!for!one.!
Essential!Questions:!Write(2Q3(sentences(for(each(of(these(questions(using(this(primary( document(as(evidence(towards(your(viewpoint.((!
1)!How!and!why!was!the!Berlin!Wall!constructed?!!
2)!How!can!the!wall!be!seen!as!a!good!thing?!
Day(5:!This!lesson!investigates!the!impact!on!West!Berlin!movie!theaters!located! geographically!close!to!East!Berlin.!Students!will!read!primary!accounts!from!individuals! living!in!Bernauerstraße,!a!hotspot!in!Berlin,!which!was!a!street!that!was!split!down!the! middle,!East!and!West.!These!excerpts!are!labeled!as!*Primary!Document!#4:!six!oral! ! 10! histories!recorded!from!Bernauerstraße,!and!their!reactions!to!the!Wall.!From!Oral(
Histories(from(Gendenkstätte(Berliner(Mauer(Berliner(Straße.!
Before!the!Wall!was!erected!in!1961,!there!were!“Grenzgängers.”!This!means!people! lived!in!the!East!and!worked!in!the!West,!for!economic!benefit,!as!the!East!was!cheaper!for! housing,!and!the!West!had!higher!wages.!Or!Eastern!citizens!would!go!to!the!West!to!watch! cheap,!western!movies!in!theaters!with!their!Ostmarks.!The!West!profited!from!the!East!
German!citizens!spending!money!in!their!movie!theaters,!grocery!stores,!department!stores! and!more!on!the!border,!who!looked!for!western!entertainment!or!goods.!When!the!Wall! was!erected,!these!border!businesses!were!severely!drained!economically!from!the!lack!of! the!Ostmark!and!visitation!by!East!Germans.!With!the!creation!of!the!Wall,!East!Germans! could!not!longer!come!over!the!border!and!exploit!their!circumstances!of!living!in! communism!but!experiencing!the!capitalist!economy.!!
Day(6:!This!is!a!split!up!activity!where!students!research!walls!throughout!history!and! present!it!the!next!day:!1)!Jerusalem!West!Bank!Wall,!2)!Great!Wall!of!China,!3)!Mexican!
Border!Proposal,!4)!Hadrian’s!Wall,!5)!Belfast!Peace!Walls,!6)!Hungarian!Wall.!Have! students!answer!the!following!for!their!wall:!What!is!it?!Why!was!there!a!wall!built!there?!
What!were!the!consequences!of!the!wall?!How!does!this!relate!to!the!Berlin!Wall?!How!can! you!apply!this!to!today,!or!to!your!life?!Students!should!turn!in!a!works!cited!page,!citing! the!sources!they!utilized.!!
Day(7:!Students!will!have!fifteen!minutes!to!study!and!prepare!for!their!presentation! and!then!groups!will!present!their!prepared!information!on!the!impacts!of!walls! throughout!history.! ! 11!
Day(8:!Test!Day.!You!should!include!a!reflection!section!to!be!filled!out,!asking!for! students!to!reflect!on!the!differing!viewpoints!expressed!by!the!newspapers!and!the!Wall’s! impact!on!individuals,!by!answering!the!essential!questions.!!
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! ! ! 12!
1980!
Module!#2!
Essential(Questions:!What!was!life!like!for!those!without!any!memory!of!the!GDR! before!the!Wall!was!built?!Why!would!someone!want!to!escape!the!GDR?!What!would! cause!them!to!attempt!to!do!so?!What!were!the!differences!between!this!socialist!society! and!a!capitalist!one!like!West!Germany?!What!was!the!education!system!like?!Did!children! know!any!different!than!what!they!were!taught!(media!influences!from!west)?!
Learning(Outcomes:!Students!will!understand!that!GDR!citizens!and!those!born!after! its!formation,!and!especially!after!the!Wall!in!1961,!had!no!impression!of!its!errors!and! lived!normal!lives.!Children!were!educated!and!socialized!to!live!and!love!East!Germany.!
Some!attempted!to!escape,!perhaps!from!their!economic!statuses!or!due!to!Stasi!pressure.!
Children!might!have!seen!a!contradiction!between!what!the!East!Germany!government! promoted!and!what!they!witnessed!in!western!media,!where!television!signals!came! through!in!East!Berlin!regions!or!cities!close!to!the!border.!!
Major(Project((Assessment):!Students!will!research!several!primary!accounts!of! escapes!as!well!as!their!reasoning!and!backgrounds,!and!some!accounts!of!those!who!lived! in!the!GDR!without!the!desire!to!escape.!After!this,!they!will!develop!their!own!authentic! background!story!and!escape!attempt!out!the!GDR.!A!detailed!explanation!handout!of!the! performance!task!is!listed!in!the!Appendix!titled!*Classroom!Document!#1.!!
Day(1:!Experiential!Learning!Day.!Students!will!come!to!class,!and!be!given!a!role!card! of!East!citizen,!West!citizen,!Stasi,!etc.!and!try!to!find!people!with!similar!last!names!`!their! family.!The!document!with!the!family!cards!is!titled!*Classroom!Document!#2!in!the!
Appendix.!Then!the!classroom!will!be!split!between!East!and!West!Germany.!The!teacher! ! 13! will!give!a!presentation!on!the!events!leading!up!to!the!Wall!being!built:!End!of!WWII,!
Soviet!control,!Capitalism!vs.!Socialism,!Airlift,!etc.!!
Introduction:!Around!the!1970s!and!early!1980s,!something!interesting!happened!in!
East!Germany!`!whole!generations!of!Germans!were!born!after!the!Wall!was!erected!and! knew!nothing!else!but!how!life!was.!Even!still,!thousands!of!East!Germans!chose!to! abandon!their!lives!in!the!GDR!including!their!families,!jobs,!for!the!hope!of!a!better!life!in! the!west.!The!main!question!we!are!investigating!is!`!what!would!lead!someone!to!develop! the!need!for!such!a!drastic!choice!like!risking!death!over!an!impenetrable!wall?!
Students!on!the!East!will!be!forced!to!color!pictures!using!black!and!gray!crayons,!and! be!given!one!choice!of!treat.!Those!on!the!West!will!be!allowed!to!use!all!colors!to!color! their!picture!and!get!a!variety!of!treats.!Students!who!are!Stasi!will!be!listening!for! dissenting!viewpoints!on!the!East!and!arrest!anyone!when!needed.!After!5`10!minutes,!tell! students!that!the!Wall!is!coming!down!and!it!is!time!to!paint!it.!Explain!the!different!visions!
Germans!had!of!the!Wall,!that!in!the!West!it!had!graffiti!on!it,!and!in!the!East!it!was!gray!and! bleak.!Show!image!of!East!Side!Gallery!and!explain!its!importance,!that!this!Wall!was!visibly!
gray!and!bleak!for!28!years,!and!now!it!
has!colorful!graffiti,!illustrating!the!
freedom!now!felt!in!Berlin.!Any!picture!
of!the!East!Side!Gallery,!such!as!the!
image!below,!works!fine.!
https://deannachampagne.files.wordpre
ss.com/2011/09/berlinQeastQsideQ
gallery.jpg! ! 14!
Day(2:!Read!Primary!Document!Accounts!at!http://www.chronikQderQmauer.de/en/!
Students!should!go!to!“Victims!at!the!Wall”!section!of!the!website!and!read!accounts!of!
Johannes!Sprenger,!Olga!Segler,!Lothar!Lehmann,!Peter!Fechter,!and!two!others!of!their! choice.!For!each!account!they!read!they!should!write!a!short!summary!of!the!victim’s! background!and!the!individual’s!reasons!for!escape.!!
After,!for!10!minutes!of!class!explain!specific!freedoms!not!available!in!the!GDR!such! as!school!life!(Pioneere,!forced!to!take!Russian),!economy!(jobs),!infrastructure!(focus!on!
Wall’s!fortifications),!and!shopping!(grocery!store,!availability!of!fruit).!!
Show!film!excerpt!from!interview!with!Luise!Winkler!found!in!Appendix!titled!*Video!
Interview!#2.!You!should!discuss!what!she!experienced,!and!the!difference!from!GDR! supermarkets!and!those!in!western!countries.!Luise!was!allowed!to!travel!with!her! husband!to!the!United!States!towards!the!end!of!the!1980s!from!East!Berlin.!This!was!a! rare!occurrence,!and!was!allowed!towards!the!end!of!the!1980s!as!the!SED!government! eased!their!travel!restrictions.!Only!older!married!couples!who!were!not!important!to!the! job!force!were!allowed!to!travel,!but!their!children!and!grandchildren!were!not!allowed!to! travel,!giving!them!incentive!to!return!to!East!Germany.!!
With!the!remaining!class!time,!explain!the!concept!of!“Stasi.”!In!the!GDR,!there!were! over!100,000!Stasi!on!the!government’s!books,!and!more!unpaid!collaborators.!At!the! height!of!the!GDR,!out!of!the!17!million!citizens,!over!6!million!citizens!had!reports!kept!on! them!by!the!Stasi.!Conduct!the!following!activity!to!show!students!how!likely!it!was!that!a! neighbor!or!friend!could!be!spying!on!you.!The!purpose!of!this!activity!is!also!so!that! students!will!create!escape!attempts!with!smaller!groups!of!people,!as!they!should!realize! that!larger!groups!were!more!likely!to!have!Stasi!infiltrations.!! ! 15!
Students!will!be!given!role!cards,!with!Citizen!or!Stasi!written!on!it.!There!are!5!Stasi!
in!the!midst!of!the!students.!The!aim!of!the!game!is!to!form!groups!of!students,!and!the!
largest!student!group!without!a!Stasi!wins.!Stasi!will!get!the!prize!if!they!infiltrate!a!group!
without!their!classmates!knowing!they!are!Stasi.!If!there!is!even!one!Stasi!in!a!group,!that!
group!loses,!representing!a!failed!escape!attempt!or!capture.!Students!will!enjoy!this!“red!
scare”!and!have!a!hard!time!deciding!who!to!keep!or!kick!out!of!their!groups.!Bürger!and!
Stasi!Role!Play!cards!located!in!Appendix!as!*Classroom!Document!#3.!!
Day(3:!Students!will!watch!7!video!interview!clips!from!individuals!living!in!the!years!
1975`80,!and!read!1!audio!transcript!from!another,!to!analyze!what!life!was!like!in!the!GDR.!
These!accounts!will!be!split!into!different!themes!such!as!Brigit!(video!interview)! discussing!the!school!system!and!her!negative!opinion!of!the!GDR,!and!Günther!(video! interview)!explaining!the!required!military!service!and!his!positive!perspective!of!the!GDR.!
See!*Video!Interviews!#2`8!for!clips!and!*Primary!Document!#5!for!the!audio!transcript!in! the!Appendix.!After!each!video!clip!or!transcript!shown,!the!class!should!discuss!the! viewpoint!from!the!individual!and!how!it!applies!to!our!essential!questions.!!
Day(4:!Students!will!read!segments!from!the!historical!fiction!novel!“A!Night!Divided”! by!Jennifer!Nielsen.!The!excerpts!can!be!found!as!*Fiction!Document!#1!in!the!Appendix.!
This!activity!will!be!done!as!a!graffiti!wall!group!project,!where!once!they!read!a!section,! they!will!write!or!draw!their!reactions!on!a!butcher!paper.!After!5`10!minutes!at!a!station,! they!will!rotate!with!their!group,!and!read!a!new!section!from!the!book!at!a!new!station,! and!write!their!reactions!on!the!graffiti!wall!and!reply!to!classmates’!reactions.!!
Once!there!is!20!minutes!of!class!left,!lead!a!classroom!debate!about!Cold!War!topics.!
Explain!that!students!will!be!asked!questions!and!told!to!stand!on!opposite!sides!of!the! ! 16! classroom!(yes!or!no,!bad!or!good,!etc.),!and!then!get!student’s!responses,!and!clarify!and! add!your!thoughts!as!needed.!Here!are!some!examples!of!questions!to!ask:!Do!you!believe! communism!is!bad!or!good?!Would!you!agree!to!be!a!Stasi!agent!and!spy!on!your!neighbors! and!family!if!you!were!living!in!the!GDR?!Is!the!Wall!a!bad!thing?!Did!Germany!deserve!the!
Berlin!Wall?!Was!the!United!States!innocent!during!the!Cold!War?!Who!was!responsible!for! starting!the!Cold!War?!Is!the!Cold!War!still!going!on?!How?!Did!the!Cold!War!contribute!to! the!War!on!Terrorism?!
Day(5Q7:!Students!will!have!3!days!to!work!on!their!escape!attempts.!Show!a!diagram! of!the!Wall!to!show!how!intricate!the!Wall!and!death!strip!were.!Here!is!a!good!diagram! shown!below!`! http://moorhistory.weebly.com/uploads/1/9/9/9/19995567/398208_orig.png!
! ! 17!
Also,!it!would!be!wise!to!provide!the!students!several!websites!as!examples!to!see! actual!escape!attempts!such!as!https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/07/berlinQwallQ escapeQstories_n_6090602.html!
Day(8:!Presentation!of!Escape!Attempt!Day.!When!the!students!are!presenting,!they! should!first!explain!their!background!story,!and!then!present!their!escape!in!their!format! prepared.!Before!the!presentation!day,!encourage!students!to!create!the!presentation!in! any!format!but!a!PowerPoint!such!as!a!skit,!poster,!story,!rap,!puppet!show,!etc.!!
!
! ! ! 18!
1989!
Module!#3!
Essential(Questions:!Why!did!the!Wall!collapse?!What!was!the!transition!of!life!like!for! the!citizens!of!the!GDR!to!a!western!lifestyle!(How!was!it!for!westerners!to!meet! easterners?!And!vice!versa?)?!
Learning(Outcome:!Students!will!learn!the!complicated!situation!Germans!felt!at! reunification!and!still!find!themselves!in!today,!due!to!a!current!lasting!division!between!
East!and!West.!They!should!understand!that!the!Wall!fell!and!Cold!War!ended!through!a! combination!of!political,!social,!and!cultural!factors.!Lastly,!they!will!apply!the!Wall!and!its! impact!on!other!past!and!current!events!like!Korea!and!Mexico.!!
Main(Project((Assessment):!Students!will!give!a!presentation!on!the!changes!that! occurred!directly!after!the!Wall!fell!and!in!the!coming!year.!They!should!explain!the! positives!and!negatives!of!the!dissolution!of!the!GDR,!and!how!reunification!could!have! gone!better.!Students!will!select!one!element!from!society!such!as!socialism!to!capitalism! transformation,!economy!(jobs!leaving!East,!Trabis!after!the!Wall,!etc.),!education,! shopping,!families,!etc.!to!present!on.!They!cannot!choose!a!societal!element!that!another! student!chose,!so!they!need!to!reserve!their!component.!!
Day(1:!This!day!will!be!a!presentation!of!major!events!leading!up!to!the!Wall’s! collapse.!Handout!*Classroom!Document!#4,!found!in!the!Appendix,!which!is!a!timeline!the! students!should!fill!out!as!they!listen!and!participate!in!the!presentation.!Important!events! to!include!are!Gorbachev,!Hungary’s!border!openings,!Oct!and!November!protests,! television!blunder!of!saying!the!border!is!open,!tearing!down!of!the!Wall!at!Brandenburger!
Tor,!and!the!subsequent!election!and!reunification.!! ! 19!
Day(2:!Students!will!read!a!primary!interview!transcript,!watch!video!clips!talking!
about!memory!of!the!collapse!and!aftermath,!and!analyze!photographs!from!the!events.!
The!aim!for!this!day!is!to!have!students!analyze!the!good!and!bad!from!the!collapse!and!
reunification,!so!students!should!try!to!write!about!the!opposing!viewpoints,!which!is!that!
the!collapse!was!bad!or!damaging!to!some.!Students!should!prepare!arguments!for!a!
classroom!debate!about!the!collapse.!
Primary!Documents:!Read!segment!of!transcript!from!Peter!Richter!of!his!feelings!on! the!reunification!and!transition.!Can!be!found!as!*Primary!Document!#6!in!the!Appendix.!!
Then,!watch!a!segment!from!the!video!interview!with!Frau!Clauß!and!neighbor!
Kerstin!about!their!feelings!of!the!reunification.!Frau!Clauß!expresses!her!regrets!of!what! has!been!lost!since!the!reunification,!such!as!neighbor!friendliness,!and!what!she!has! enjoyed!since!then.!Find!in!the!Appendix!titled!*Video!Interview!#9.!!
Next,!watch!aa!segment!from!video!interview!with!West!German!Inge!Büschlen,!who! took!part!in!the!teardown!of!the!Wall,!November!9,!1989!and!her!feelings!of!the! reunification.!Can!be!found!in!Appendix!as!*Video!Interview!#10.!
Lastly,!analyze!the!photographs!from!the!night!the!Wall!fell!and!from!reunification.!
One!picture!(*Photograph!#6)!is!of!November!9,!1989,!when!the!masses!gathered!and!
bypassed!the!guards!to!begin!the!teardown!at!the!Brandenburger!Tor.!The!next!two!
(*Photographs!#7`8)!show!the!rush!of!Easterners!who!flooded!western!businesses!for!
western!goods.!!
Discuss!the!impact!of!reunification!viewpoints!as!a!class!from!different!sources!such!
as!Frau!Clauß!and!Peter!Richter’s!apprehension!versus!Inge’s!West!German!viewpoint.!! ! 20!
Day(3:!Debate!Day!–!Discuss!how!East!Germany!should!have!been!admitted!to!be! apart!of!Germany.!Pose!the!question!“If!it!was!done!effectively!or!not?!Are!there!still! impacts!felt!today?”!
Read!the!excerpts!from!Angela!Merkel’s!speeches!about!reunification!found!in!
*Primary!Documents!#7`8!in!the!Appendix.!!
After!evaluating!Chancellor’s!Merkel’s!perspective,!students!should!write!their! opinions!in!a!one`page!essay!during!the!last!half!of!class.!Encourage!them!to!add! perspectives!from!Inge,!Kerstein,!Frau!Clauß,!and!the!photographs!they!analyzed.!!
Day(4Q7:!Study/Research!Days!for!Presentation.!Provide!sufficient!primary!and! secondary!sources!to!be!analyzed!by!students!during!research!days.!These!can!include!clips! from!the!video!interviews!shown!in!the!1980!lesson!module.!Most!of!the!interviewees!from! the!1980s!unit!have!clips!where!they!discuss!their!memory!of!the!collapse!of!the!Wall!and! reunification!apprehension!or!excitement.!There!are!documents!forthcoming!and!in!the! process!of!being!transcribed.!!
Article(titled,(“Winners(and(Losers(of(1989”(Q( https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/nov/07/berlinQwallQgermanyQwinnersQ losers!
Day(8:!Presentation!of!Projects.!Students!will!present!their!element!from!society!that! transformed!during!the!reunification!process.!Everyone!else!watching!the!presentation! should!take!notes!on!that!societal!change!and!turn!in!notes!for!credit.!!
!
! ! ! 21!
Conclusion!to!Lesson!Module!
These!lesson!modules!and!individual!lessons!span!the!construction!and!fall!of!the!
Berlin!Wall,!with!specific!focuses!on!the!pivotal!years!1961,!1980,!and!1989.!By! investigating!primary!and!secondary!accounts,!with!interactive!student!activities!and! projects,!higher`level!thinking!and!knowledge!of!the!era!can!be!achieved.!These!lesson! modules!were!created!to!help!students!and!those!interested!in!the!Berlin!Wall!navigate!the! website!full!of!primary!and!secondary!sources.!Please!use!these!in!whatever!shape!or!form! desired.!!
!
! ! ! 22!
Bibliography!
Here(are(a(list(of(sources(cited(from(the(lesson(modules(and(other(links(to(learn(more(about(
the(Berlin(Wall(
!
Primary!Sources!
Novels(
Bailey,!George,!Sergej!A.!Kondraschow,!and!David!E.!Murphy.!Battleground(Berlin.!Berlin:!
Yale!University!Press,!1997.!!
Hoffmann,!Matthias.!Living(with(the(Wall.!Berlin:!Nicolai!Berlin,!2002.!
Hörnigk,!Therese,!and!Alexander!Stephan.!The(New(Sufferings(of(Young(W.(and(Other(Stories(
from(the(German(Democratic(Republic.!New!York:!Continuum,!1997.!
Hutchinson,!Peter.!Die(DDR(erzählt:(Nine(Stories(from(the(German(Democratic(Republic.!
Berlin:!Harap.!1973.!
Maron,!Monika.!Flugasche.!Berlin:!Fischer!Taschenbuch!Verlag!GMbH,!1981.!
Millar,!Peter.!1989,(The(Berlin(Wall:(My(Part(in(its(Downfall.!London:!Arcadia!Books,!2014.!
Millar,!Peter.!Tomorrow(Belongs(to(me:(Germany(Through(the(Extraordinary(Lives(of(
Ordinary(People.!London:!Bloomsbury,!1992.!
Monson,!Thomas!S.!Faith(Rewarded:(A(Personal(Account(of(Prophetic(Promises(to(the(East(
German(Saints.!Salt!Lake!City:!Deseret!Book!Co.,!1996.!
Schneider,!Peter,!et!al.!The(Wall(Jumper.!London:!Penguin!Books,!2005.!
Wander,!Maxie,!and!Christa!Wolf.!Guten(Morgen,(du(Schöne:(Frauen(in(der(DDR.!Darmstadt:!
Luchterhand,!1986.!
Wolf,!Christa.!Der(geteilte(Himmel.!Berlin:!Suhrkamp!Verlag!GmbH,!1963.! ! 23!
Vaizey,!Hester.!Born(in(the(GDR.!United!Kingdom:!Oxford!University!Press,!2014.!!
!!
Films(during(GDR(
Der(Dritte(Die(Kunst(zu(lieben(und(zu(leben.!Video.!Directed!by!Egon!Günther.!1972.!
Potsdam`Babelsberg:!DEFA!Spielfilme,!1998.!DVD.!!
Hostess.!Video.!Directed!by!Rolf!Römer.!1976.!Potsdam`Babelsberg:!DEFA!Spielfilme.!!
The(Man(on(the(Wall.!Video.!Directed!by!Reinhard!Hauff.!1982.!West!Germany:!Arthaus,!
2009.!DVD.!!
Meier.!Video.!Directed!by!Peter!Timm.!1986.!West!Germany:!Studiocanal,!2007.!DVD.!!
Solo(Sunny.!Video.!Directed!by!Konrad!Wolf.!1980.!Potsdam`Babelsberg!
Traces(of(Stones.!Video.!Directed!by!Frank!Beyer.!1966.!Potsdam`Babelsberg:!DEFA!
Spielfilme,!2013.!
!
Films(after(GDR(
Bis(ans(die(Grenze:(der(Private(Blick(auf(die(Mauer.!Video.!Directed!by!Gerald!Grote!and!
Claus!Oppermann.!2012.!Schleswig`Holstein:!Fastbreak!Entertainment!GmbH,!2014.!
DVD.!!
Good(bye(Lenin!!Video.!Directed!by!Wolfgang!Becker.!London:!Warner!Home!Video,!2003.!
DVD.!(
The(Lives(of(others.!Video.!Directed!by!Florian!Henckel!von!Donnersmarck.!UK:!Lions!Gate!
Home!Entertainment!UK!Ltd,!2007.!DVD.!!
Die(Stille(nach(dem(Schluß.!Video.!Directed!by!Volker!Schlöndorff.!Strasbourg:!Arte,!2000.!
DVD.!!! ! 24!
(Sonnenallee.!Video.!Directed!by!Leander!Haußmann.!1999.!Berlin:!Delphi!Filmverleih!
GmbH.!DVD.!!
(
Photography(Collection(
Bahr,!Christian,!and!Günter!Schneider.!Wo(stand(die(Berliner(Mauer.!Berlin:!Jason!Verlag,!
2014.!
Leben(in(der(Platten.(München:!Bucher!Verlag,!2013.!!
Melis,!Roger.!In(einem(stillen(Land:(Fotografien(1965(Q(1989.!Leipzig:!Lehmstedt,!2010.!
Morgenstern,!Klaus.!DDR(in(Color.!Berlin:!DDR!Bildarchiv,!2012.!
Petro,!Wolfgang.!Die(Berliner(Mauer:(Ihr(wahres(Gesicht.(Berlin:!Jaron!Verlag,!2010.!!
Viergutz,!Volker.(The(Berlin(Wall(1961Q1989:(Photographs(from(the(Stock(Archives(of(the(
Land(of(Berlin.(Berlin:!Berlin!Story!Verlag,!2016.!
(
Newspapers((I(have(several(months(from(these(years(saved,(and(I(don’t(have(specific(issues(
selected,(but(when(I(do(I(will(cite(this(section)(
Bild,(November!2009.!!
Berliner(Zeitung,!August!14,!1961.!
Morgen(Post,(August!15,!1961.!!
Neue(Zeit,!1961,!1979,!1989.!
(
Oral(&(Video(Interviews!
Andrea!Clauß!and!Kerstin!Rathke,!interview!by!Nicholas!A.!Redmon,!June!15,!2017,!video!
format.! ! 25!
Bernd!Rüschel,!interview!by!Nicholas!A.!Redmon,!June!13,!2017,!video!format.!
Birgit!Heinemann,!interview!by!Nicholas!A.!Redmon,!June!15,!2017,!video!format.!
Bruder!Gröschke,!interview!by!Nicholas!A.!Redmon,!June!16,!2017,!video!format.!
Gunter!Booltz,!interview!by!Nicholas!A.!Redmon,!June!15,!2017,!video!format.!
Inge!Büschlen,!interview!by!Nicholas!A.!Redmon,!October!10,!2017,!video!format.!!
Kurt!Schult!Ehepaar,!interview!by!Nicholas!A.!Redmon,!June!17,!2017,!video!format.!
Martina!Mieth,!interview!by!Nicholas!A.!Redmon,!June!13,!2017,!video!format.!
Peter!Richter,!interview!by!Nicholas!A.!Redmon,!June!11,!audio!format.!
Sigurd!und!Siegrun!Winkler,!interview!by!Nicholas!A.!Redmon,!June!14,!2017,!video!format.!
Thomas!Rost,!interview!by!Nicholas!A.!Redmon,!June!15,!2017,!video!format.!
Thomas!Thummler,!interview!by!Nicholas!A.!Redmon,!June!13,!2017,!video!format.!!
Zander!Ehepaar,!interview!by!Nicholas!A.!Redmon,!June!14,!2017,!video!format.!!
!
Secondary!Sources!
Ahonen,!Pertti.!Death(at(the(Berlin(Wall.!Oxford:!Oxford!University!Press,!2011.!
Ahonen,!Pertti.!"The!Berlin!Wall!and!the!Battle!for!Legitimacy!in!Divided!Germany."!German(
Politics(and(Society!29,!no.!2!(2011).!doi:10.3167/gps.2011.290204.!!
Davis,!Garold!and!Norma.!“Behind!the!Wall:!The!Church!in!Eastern!Germany!Part!1:!Saints!
in!Isolation,!1945–1989.”!Ensign,!April!1991.!!
Die(DDR:(Eine(Chronik(deutscher(Geschichte.!Renningen:!Garant!Verlag!GmbH,!2017.!
Fenemore,!Mark.!Nonconformity(on(the(Borders(of(Dictatorship.(Youth(Subcultures(in(the(!
GDR((1949Q1965).!London:!University!College!London,!2002.!! ! 26!
Fulbrook,!Mary:!The(People’s(State.(East(Germany(Society(from(Hitler(to(Honecker,!New!
Haven:!Yale!University!Press,!2005.!!
Funder,!Anna,!and!Mireille!Vignol.!Stasiland:(Stories(Behind(the(Berlin(Wall.!Paris:!Harper!
Perennial,!2011.!
Hall,!Bruce!W.!“And!The!Last!Shall!Be!First:!The!Church!of!Jesus!Christ!of!Latter`Day!Saints!
in!the!Former!East!Germany.”!Journal(of(Church(&(State!42,!no.!3!(Summer!2000).!
Hertle,!Hans`Hermann,!and!Maria!Nooke.!The(Victims(at(the(Berlin(Wall(1961Q1989:(A(
Biographical(Handbook.!Berlin:!Federal!Government!Commissioner!for!Culture!and!
the!Media,!2011.!!
Hilton,!Christopher.!The(Wall:(The(People's(Story.!Gloucestershire:!The!History!Press,!2011.!
Kuehne,!Raymond!M.!Henry(Burkhardt(and(LDS(Realpolitik(in(Communist(East(Germany.!Salt!
Lake!City:!University!of!Utah!Press,!2011.!
Kuehne,!Raymond!M.!Mormons(as(Citizens(of(a(Communist(State:(A(Documentary(History(of(
the(Church(of(Jesus(Christ(of(LatterQday(Saints(in(East(Germany,(1945Q1990.!Salt!Lake!
City:!University!of!Utah!Press,!2010.!
Major,!Patrick.!Behind(the(Berlin(Wall:(East(Germany(and(the(Frontiers(of(Power.!Oxford:!
Oxford!University!Press,!2011.!
Ross,!Corey.!"East!Germans!and!the!Berlin!Wall:!Popular!Opinion!and!Social!Change!before!
and!after!the!Border!Closure!of!August!1961."!Journal(of(Contemporary(History!39,!
no.!1!(2004):!25`43.!doi:10.1177/0022009404039882.!
Ross,!Corey.!The(East(German(Dictatorship:(Problems(and(Perspectives(in(the(Interpretation(
of(the(GDR.!London:!Arnold,!2010.!
Rückel,!Robert.!GDR(Guide:(A(Journey(to(a(Bygone(State.!Berlin:!DDR!Museum!Verlag,!2012.! ! 27!
Sheffer,!Edith.!Burned(Bridge:(How(East(and(West(Germans(Made(the(Iron(Curtain.!New!
York:!Oxford!University!Press,!2014.!
Willner,!Nina.!Forty(Autumns:(A(Family’s(Story(of(Courage(and(Survival(on(Both(Sides(of(the(
Berlin(Wall.!New!York:!HarperCollins,!2016.!
!
Online!Collections!
“Berlin!Wall!Memorial.”!Die(Beauftragte(der(Bundesregierung(für(Kultur(und(Medien.!June!
20,!2017.!!http://www.berliner`mauer`gedenkstaette.de/en/index.html.!
“Chronicle!of!the!Berlin!Wall.”!Bundeszentrale(für(politische(Bildung.(July!17,!2017.!
http://www.chronik`der`mauer.de/en/.!
“Gedenkstätte!Berlin!Hohenschönhausen.”!Die(Beauftragte(der(Bundesregierung(für(Kultur(
und(Medien.!September!3,!2017.!http://www.stiftung`hsh.de/?locale=en_GB.!
“Jugender!Opposition!in!der!DDR.”!Bundeszentrale(für(politische(Bildung.!August!29,!2017.(
https://www.jugendopposition.de.!
“Memorial!Landscape!Berlin!Wall.”!Berlin(Wall(Foundation.!September!11,!2017.!
http://berlin`wall`map.com.!
“The!Berlin!Wall.”!National(Education(Association.!September!2,!2017.!
http://www.nea.org/tools/lessons/the`berlin`wall.html.!
“The!Berlin!Wall:!A!Multimedia!History.”!Rundfunk(BerlinQBrandenburg.!August!20,!2017.!
https://www.the`berlin`wall.com.!
“Wir!waren!so!frei.”!Bundeszentrale(für(politische(Bildung.!July!11,!2017.!https://www.wir`
waren`so`frei.de.!
! ! 28!
Historical!Fiction!
Hensel,!Jana.!After(the(Wall:(Confessions(from(an(East(German(Childhood(and(the(Life(That(
Came(Next.!New!York:!Perseus,!2008.!
Nielsen,!Jennifer.!A(Night(Divided.!New!York:!Scholastic!Press,!2015.!
Sington,!Philip.!The(Valley(of(Unknowing.!London:!Vintage!Books,!2013.!
Young,!David.!Stasi(Child.!London:!Minotaur!Books,!2017.!
!
!
! ! ! 29!
Appendix!of!Photographs!
Photograph!#1:!U`Bahn!Map!in!GDR!
!
!
!
!
! ! 30!
Photograph!#2:!1961!West!German!girls!visit!their!grandparents!
!
! ! 31!
Photograph!#3:!1961!Freie!Deutsche!Jugend!(Free!German!Youth)!Help!Build!up!the!Wall!
!
!
!
!
! ! ! 32!
Photograph!#4:!1961!Mauerbau!in!Reinickendorf!!
!
!
! ! ! 33!
Photograph!#5:!1961!Sowjetische!Panzerfahrer!mit!Blumen!(Soviet!Tank!Driver!with!
Flowers)!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
! ! 34!
Photograph!#6:!November!9,!1989,!the!night!the!Wall!was!overcome!with!East!and!
Western!Germans!at!the!Brandenburger!Tor.!!
!
!
! ! 35!
Photograph!#7:!Eastern!Germans!visit!West!Germany!for!products.!!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
! ! 36!
Photograph!#8:!Another!photograph!of!the!Getränke!sold!days!after!the!collapse!of!the!Wall! in!November,!1989,!showing!the!Eastern!enthusiasm!for!western!products.!!
!
! ! ! 37!
Appendix!of!Documents!
Primary!Document!1:!Excerpt!from!Berliner!Zeitung!14.!August,!1961!
! ! 38!
Montag!14.!August!1961!Zeitungsauschnitt!
Text!clips!in!German:!
Berliner!zu!den!Schutzmaßnahmen.!
Sicherheit!für!uns!alle!
Berlin!(BZ).!Die!Regierung!der!DDR!hat!gehandelt.!In!der!Nacht!zum!Sonntag!sind!an!den!
Grenzen!Westberlins!Kontrollmaßnahmen!eingeführt!worden,!die!der!Wühltätigkeit!aus!
der!Frontstadt!den!Weg!verlegen!werden.!Vorher!hatten!die!Warschauer!Vertragsstaaten!
in!einer!Erklärung!auf!die!Notwendigkeit!solcher!Maßnahmen!hingewiesen.!Jetzt!ist!an!der!
Grenze!eine!Ordnung!hergestellt,!die!den!Menschenhändlern!und!Grenzgängern!das!
Handwerk!legt.!!
Kurz!nach!Mitternacht!wurden!die!beschlossenen!Maßnahmen!schlagartig!durchgeführt.!
Volkspolizeieinheiten!besetzen!die!Übergangsstellen!nach!dem!Westsektor.!!
Die!Berliner!Bevölkerung!begrüßte!am!Sonntagmorgen!mit!Genugtuung!die!neuen!
Maßnahmen,!die!von!der!überwiegenden!Mehrheit!seit!langem!erwartet!und!gefordert!
wurden.!!
Der!Sonntag!in!Berlin!
Berlin!lag!an!diesem!Sonntag!in!den!frühen!Morgenstunden!in!strahlenden!Sonnenschein.!
Ein!gewöhnlicher!Sommersonntag!begann.!Viele!Berliner!machten!sich!wie!üblich!mit!
Autos,!Mopeds,!und!den!öffentlichen!Verkehrsmitteln!auf!den!Weg,!hinaus!ins!Grüne.!Ein! gewöhnlicher!Sommersonntag,!dieser!13.!August!1961?!
Viele!von!denen,!die!früh!unterwegs!waren,!hatten!sich!noch!nicht!informiert.!Sie!wurden! erst!aufmerksam,!als!sie!auf!den!Autobus!Haltestellen!Mitarbeitern!der!Nationalen!Front! ! 39!
begegneten,!die!an!allen!Bürger!Extrablätter!mit!dem!Wortlaut!der!Regierungsmaßnhamen!
verteilten.!!
"Sehr!richtig!"!`!Eine!verständliche!Maßnahme!"!`!"Es!war!höchste!Zeit!"!`!Das!waren!
spontane!Meinungen.!!
Weil!sie!nicht!hören!wollten...!
"Dieser!13.!August!1961!ist!ein!schwarzer!Tag!für!die!westdeutschen!Militaristen.!Ein!
schwarzer!Tag!für!den!Militarismus!aber!ist!ein!Tag!des!Sieges!für!die!deutsche!
Arbeiterklasse!und!alle!Freunde!des!Friedens.!
Text!Clips!in!English!
Berlin!to!the!protective!measures.!
Safety!for!all!of!us!
Berlin!(BZ).!The!GDR!government!has!acted.!On!the!night!of!Sunday,!control!measures!have! been!introduced!on!the!borders!of!West!Berlin,!which!will!set!an!allowance!for!the!way!out! of!the!city.!Previously,!the!Warsaw!States!parties!had!pointed!out!in!a!statement!the!need!
for!such!measures.!Now!an!order!has!been!established!at!the!border,!which!stops!the!
border!crossers.!
Shortly!after!midnight!the!resolved!measures!were!carried!out!abruptly.!People's!police!
units!occupy!the!transition!points!to!the!West!sector.!
On!Sunday!morning,!the!Berlin!population!greeted!with!satisfaction!the!new!measures!that!
the!overwhelming!majority!had!long!expected!and!demanded.!
The!Sunday!in!Berlin! ! 40!
Berlin!was!in!the!early!morning!hours!on!this!Sunday!in!bright!sunshine.!An!ordinary! summer's!day!began.!Many!Berliners!went!out!into!nature!as!usual!with!cars,!mopeds,!and! public!transport.!An!ordinary!Summer!Day,!this!August!13,!1961?!
Many!of!those!who!were!traveling!early!had!not!yet!been!informed.!They!only!noticed! when!they!met!employees!of!the!National!Front!on!the!bus!stops,!who!distributed!excerpts! to!all!citizens!with!the!wording!of!the!government!measures.!
"Very!good!"!`!A!reasonable!measure!!"`"!It!was!high!time!!"`!These!were!spontaneous! opinions.!
Because!they!did!not!want!to!hear!...!
"This!August!13,!1961!is!a!black!day!for!the!West!German!militarists,!a!black!day!for! militarism!but!it!is!a!day!of!victory!for!the!German!working!class!and!all!friends!of!peace.”!
The!Berliner!Zeitung!is!a!newspaper!established!in!1945!in!East!Germany.!After!the! reunification!of!Germany,!it!has!still!been!one!of!the!prominent!newspapers!in!the!Berlin`
Brandenburg!region.!This!particular!issue!of!the!Berliner!Zeitung!is!explaining!the!reaction! and!justification!for!the!Berlin!Wall!being!built!the!day!prior.!Since!this!newspaper!is!a!East!
German!publication,!it!focuses!on!the!wall!being!a!measure!necessary!and!that!the!people! were!pleased!with!its!establishment.!!
!
!
!
!
!
! ! 41!
Primary!Document!#2:!Excerpt!from!Morgen!Post!15.!August,!1961!
! ! 42!
! ! 43!
Dienstag!15.!August!1961!Zeitungsauschnitt!
Text!clips!in!German:!
Wir!rufen!die!Welt!!
Seht!her!!An!dieser!waffenstarrenden!Mauer!vor!dem!Brandenburger!Tor!in!Berlin!endet! die!Freiheit!
Nicht!nur!die!Freiheit!Westberlins.!Hier!endet!auch!die!Freiheit!der!freien!Welt!
Wir!in!Westberlin,!die!wir!noch!das!freie!Wort!aussprechen!dürfen,!wir!rufen!der!Welt!zu:!
Legt!dieses!Bild!auf!die!Verhandlungs`!und!Konferenztische.!Druckt!es!in!allen!Zeitungen.!
Zeigt!und!sagt!alle!Menschen!in!unserer!freien!Welt,!von!wo!aus!der!nächste!Schlag!geführt! werden!kann!gegen!Westdeutschland,!jene!Europa!`!wenn!wir!nicht!wachsam!und! standhaft!sind.!!
Habt!dieses!Bild!vor!Augen,!wenn!aus!dem!Konzentrationslager!"DDR"!die!lockenden!
Einladung!kommen!zu!Handelsmessen,!zu!kulturellen!Veranstaltungen,!zu!sportlichen!
Treffen,!zu!Ausstellungen.!!
Fragt!euch,!ob!es!noch!eine!Brücke!geben!kann!über!dieser!Panzer!und!Bajonette,!die!seit!
Sonntag!aufgefahren!und!aufgeplatzt!worden!sind,!um!16!Millionen!endgültig!das!Recht!auf!
Selbstbestimmung!zu!nehmen.!!
Die!Bewohner!West`Berlins!werden!nicht!aufhören,!dieses!Recht!zu!fordern.!Sie!werden!es! immer!wieder!tun.!Stellvertretend!für!jene!sechzehn!Millionen,!die!nun!nicht!einmal!mehr! mit!den!Füßen!wählen!können.!!
Telefonverkehr!unterbrochen!
Seit!gestern!früh!besteht!zwischen!der!Bundesrepublik!und!der!Sowjetzone!keine!
Telefonverbindung.!Die!Postbehörden!der!Zone!vermitteln!keine!Gespräche!mehr.!Auch! ! 44! der!Fernschreibverkehr!ist!von!den!sowjetzonalen!Behörden!unterbrochen!worden.!
Gestern!Nachmittag!konnten!lediglich!noch!Telegramme!von!der!Bundesrepublik!in!die!
Zone!gesandt!werden.!!
Läden!und!Kinos!an!der!Grenze!verloren!Tausende!von!Kunden!
Geschäftsleute!haben!Sorgen!``!keine!Ostmark!in!der!Kasse!
Etwa!500,000!Ostmark!wanderten!täglich!in!dir!Kassen!der!Westberliner!Läden!entlang! der!Sektorengrenze.!Gestern!nahmen!diese!Geschäfte,!Kioske,!und!Kaufhäuser!keine!einzige!
Ostmark!ein.!Als!die!Reporter!der!"Berliner!Morgenpost"!die!betroffenen!Geschäftsleute! aufsuchten,!waren!sie!oft!die!einzigen!"Kunden."!
Ein!echter!Berlin!Wurst`Maxe!sagte!schließlich:!"Det!Geschäft!war!heute!mies.!Noch!mieser! ist,!daß!die!Leute!aus!dem!Osten!nur!noch!volkseigene!Wurst!zu!kauen!haben.!Aber!was!ich! besonders!fies!finde:!Die!Ostler!können!sich!nicht!mehr!bei!mir!ausquatschen.!Hier!konnten! se!frei!reden..."!L.R.!
Text!clips!in!English:!
We!are!calling!on!the!world!!
Look!here!!On!this!armor`piercing!wall!in!front!of!the!Brandenburg!Gate!in!Berlin!ends! freedom.!
Not!only!the!freedom!of!West!Berlin.!The!freedom!of!the!free!world!also!ends!here!
We!in!West!Berlin,!who!are!still!allowed!to!speak!freely,!we!are!calling!on!the!world:!Put! this!picture!on!the!negotiating!and!conference!tables.!Print!it!in!all!newspapers.!Show!and! tell!all!people!in!our!free!world,!from!where!the!next!blow!can!be!made!to!West!Germany,! that!Europe!`!if!we!are!not!vigilant!and!firm.! ! 45!
Have!this!picture!in!mind!when!the!concentration!camp!"GDR"!invites!you!to!trade!fairs,! cultural!events,!sporting!events,!exhibitions.!
Ask!yourself!if!there!can!still!be!a!bridge!over!the!tanks!and!bayonets,!which!have!been! called!up!and!stationed!since!Sunday!to!take!away!the!self`determination!and!right!from!16! million!people!away.!The!inhabitants!of!West!Berlin!will!not!cease!to!demand!this!right!for! the!East!Germans.!They!will!do!it!again!and!again.!For!those!sixteen!million!who!cannot! even!choose!their!path.!
Telephone!traffic!interrupted!
Since!yesterday!morning!there!is!no!telephone!connection!between!the!Federal!Republic! and!the!Soviet!Zone.!The!postal!authorities!of!the!zone!are!no!longer!arranging!for!talks.!
Telecommunications!has!also!been!interrupted!by!the!Soviet!authorities.!Yesterday! afternoon!only!telegrams!from!the!Federal!Republic!were!sent!to!the!zone.!
Shops!and!cinemas!on!the!border!lost!thousands!of!customers!
Businessmen!are!worried!`!no!Ostmark!at!the!cash!desk!
About!500,000!Ostmark!emigrated!daily!to!you!in!the!cash!registers!of!West!Berlin!stores! along!the!sector!border.!Yesterday,!these!shops,!kiosks,!and!department!stores!did!not!get! any!single!Ostmarks.!When!the!reporters!of!the!"Berliner!Morgenpost"!visited!the!affected! businessmen,!they!were!often!the!only!"customers."!
A!real!Berlin`sausage`Maxe!finally!said:!"The!business!was!bad!today,!even!worse!is!that! the!people!from!the!East!have!only!chewed!sausage,!but!what!I!find!especially!even!worse:! is!the!Easterners!can!no!longer!talk!with!me,!because!here!they!could!talk!freely!...!"LR!
The!Berliner!Morgenpost!is!the!second!most!read!newspaper!publication!in!Berlin,!and!has! been!around!since!1898.!This!periodical!is!one!of!the!main!sources!analyzing!the!Berlin! ! 46!
Wall!from!the!western!side.!The!Berliner!Morgenpost!was!surrounded!in!1961!when!was! the!Wall!was!built,!essentially!blocking!off!West!Berlin!from!East!Germany,!even!though!
West!Berlin!was!in!the!middle!of!East!Germany,!as!an!island!in!the!middle!of!the!ocean.!This! issue!is!the!first!mention!of!the!Wall’s!construction,!which!explains!the!economical!impact! and!is!a!call!to!the!world!to!react.!!
!
!
! ! ! 47!
Primary!Document!#3:!Letter!from!Walter!Ulbricht!to!Nikita!Khrushchev!
The(following(letter(does(not(follow(the(page(numbers(in(this(document,(only(page(one( correlates(with(page(32(in(this(document,(and(the(rest(are(nonQnumbered.((
Digital Archive digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org International History Declassified
September 15, 1961 Letter from Ulbricht to Khrushchev on Closing the Border Around West Berlin
Citation:
“Letter from Ulbricht to Khrushchev on Closing the Border Around West Berlin,” September 15, 1961, History and Public Policy Program Digital Archive, Published in CWIHP Working Paper No. 5, "Ulbricht and the Concrete 'Rose.'" Translated for CWIHP by Hope Harrison. SED Archives, IfGA, ZPA, Central Committee files, Walter Ulbricht's office, Internal Party Archive, J IV 2/202/130. http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/116212
Summary:
Ulbricht writes to Khrushchev regarding the closing of the border between east and west Berlin.
Credits:
This document was made possible with support from the Leon Levy Foundation.
Original Language:
German
Contents:
English Translation
! Letter from Ulbricht to Khrushchev, 15 September 1961. SED Archives, IfGA, ZPA, Central Committee files, Walter Ulbricht's office, Internal Party Archive, J IV 2/202/130..
Now that the first part of the task of preparing the peace treaty has been carried out, I would like to inform the CPSU CC Presidium about the situation.
The implementation of the resolution on the closing of the border around West Berlin went according to plan. The tactic of gradually carrying out the measures made it more difficult for the adversary to orient himself with regard to the extent of our measures and made it easier for us to find the weak places in the border. I must say that the adversary undertook fewer counter- measures than was expected. The dispatch of 1500 American bandits would bother the West Berliners more than we do. The drawing-up of the Soviet troops into a position of readiness as well as the employment of units of the National People's Army in Berlin had a very sobering effect on the adversary. It was of decisive significance that the Warsaw Pact states acted unanimously under Soviet leadership and that the Soviet press reported comprehensively after August 13 and took a position supporting the GDR measures.
We achieved the following things by closing the border around West Berlin: 1.) The protection of the GDR against the organization of a civil war and military provocations from West Berlin.
2.) The cessation of the economic and cultural undermining of the capital of the GDR by the West Berlin swamp.
3.) A change in the political situation will occur. The Bonn government has understood that the policy of revanch and the plan to roll back the GDR by the organization of a civil war and a small war has been destroyed for all time. This will later have great effects on the tactics of the Western powers regarding Poland and Czechoslovakia.
4.) The authority of the GDR state, which was weakened by its tolerance towards the subversive measures from West Berlin, was strengthened and a revolution in the thinking of the population of the capital and the GDR has occurred.
The experiences of the last years have proven that it is not possible for a socialist country such as the GDR to carry out peaceful competition with an imperialist country such as West Germany with open borders. Such opportunities first appear when the socialist world system has surpassed the capitalist countries in per-capita production.
The adversary tried to answer our defense measures with a cry about the division of Germany. The attempt to call forth difficulties for us through chauvinistic propaganda and the use of the slogan of the "right to self-determination" failed, because large groups of the population had believed for a long time that it could not continue further as it was. The revolution in the mood of the GDR population was expressed in the happiness that the adversary was dealt a real blow. The authority of the GDR state grew significantly in the people's consciousness. Not only broad groups of the industrial workers, but also the collective farm
126 workers, are working better than before. The main discussions in the weak sections of the population, especially in parts of the intelligentsia, are basically about perspectives. Many people say that they will no longer be able to visit their uncle and their aunt regularly, but they really think that now the Western orientation is shattered and that there is no longer any other way than to orient themselves on the workers-and-peasants state of the GDR and on the socialist camp. Each citizen of the Republic who hoped for the reunification of Germany through an inexplicable compromise between the four powers or in general through any kind of "concessions by both sides" was forced to think the issue through to its conclusion, i.e., the resolution of the national issue of the German people presupposes the conquest of German imperialism and the victory of socialism in the GDR. The people learned in the days after August 13 to completely think through many questions to the end. I would like to mention that the organized adversaries, who let themselves be led in their struggle against the GDR by RIAS [Radio in the American Sector] and West Berlin agencies, on the basis of the hatred of the West Berlin radio stations in July and the first half of August, were released from prison and some were made safe. I must say that the intelligentsia in general understood the situation relatively quickly. They respected the measures of the state, and there were fewer difficulties with them than before. There were bigger conflicts only with a part of the young intelligentsia which felt the experiences of the capitalist time.
In the GDR capital, some of the citizens who had worked in West Berlin factories took work in our factories. There are young people who were infected strongly by the Western imperialist propaganda and asphalt culture. Some of the younger workers refused to work and roamed around the streets. We transported some of them from the streets into work camps to teach them to work. There were difficulties, because some of the doctors of Charity hospital and other hospitals live in West Berlin and were influenced there not to come to work in the capital of the GDR. Also several large orchestras and theater ensembles are having difficulties which we are trying to overcome by enlisting artistic forces from the Republic (50% of the musicians of the orchestra of German State Opera were West Berliners; the majority of artists at the Comic Opera live in West Berlin).
The present elections for the district parliaments, district councils, and district assemblies help us to carry out great educational work in the entire population and to further consolidate the situation.
A measure of the drastic change in the working class is the resolution on production intentions for raising the production in the same period of time and with the same pay, as well as making the economy free from interference. The agricultural production cooperatives have begun a plan for raising the production for the market in a similar way. We not only want to raise production with this campaign, but also at least in part to correct the violations of the economic laws which occurred due to influences from West Berlin.
The raising of consciousness of struggle is reflected in the commitment of more than 50,000 young men to voluntary duty in the National People's Army. Of course, the older workers also helped with this, since they made it clear to the young men that every young man must complete his military service with defense of the fatherland. There are many resolutions from the factories which request the President of the Volkskammer to move for the Volkskammer to resolve on the institution of the draft. We have stopped this now and postponed these appeals until after the peace treaty.
127 The visit of the cosmonaut Comrade Major Titov was a great help for us. His visit gave us the opportunity to connect the questions of the securing of peace with friendship with the Soviet Union and with the issues of the future as they are set forth in the CPSU program. Comrade Titov behaved extraordinarily. Even in the most complicated situation he reacted quickly and properly politically, like a true cosmonaut. So, thank you very much for this great help.
Due to our measures of August 13, the whole election exercise was muddled up in West Berlin and West Germany. When Mr. Brandt was summoned to Berlin on August 13, he made an overwhelming impression and demanded countermeasures by the Bonn government and the Western powers, even if they meant extreme risk. The adventurer Brandt overtook even Mr. Adenauer in regard to chauvinism and anti-communism. This does not however change the reality that both Adenauer and Brandt came to West Berlin to see for themselves the fragments of their policy of revanch and the policy of strength.
In West Berlin itself the border areas have become desolate. Many stores and cinemas are closed, many members of the bourgeoisie are moving their homes to West Germany. There are now many villas for sale in West Berlin. The new aspect of the situation is that West Berlin has finished playing its role as a show window of the capitalist West and also will continue to function only partially as a center of subversion. Further, it has been made clear that by the regulation of the use of the transit routes of the GDR to West Berlin, this part of the city will not escape from the difficulties. West Berlin can develop only on the basis of normal relations with the GDR. Until now West Berlin received about one and half million marks in subsidy from the USA and the Bonn government per year. In addition, there are the many buildings which were made with money from the USA and Bonn. The West Berlin Senate demands in addition from Bonn a further one billion mark subsidy each year. From this it is clear how much West Berlin has lived at the cost GDR. After the closing of the border, suddenly there was still present in the GDR capital even in the evenings enough meat of the best quality, while before, especially on weekends, it was already sold out by midday. We also do not have any more problems with bread or butter in the capital. Even the women are satisfied that they can now go to the hair dresser's, since until now the big hair dressing salons were occupied by West Berlin women.
In West Germany, the defense measures of August 13 also led to a sobering up among a part of the bourgeoisie. War Minister Strauss was somewhat repressed and Economics Minister Erhard was pushed more into the foreground. Unfortunately the time until the elections in West Germany on September 17 was too short so that August 13 had only a little influence in West Germany. The German Peace Union cannot master the new main questions in so short a time, although it takes great pains and its resolution on a neutral Germany has gained ground gradually.
The international effect of August 13 was generally a very positive one. The citizens of the people's democracies realize more and more now that the struggle against German militarism and for a peace treaty is the business of every people's democracy. The danger of German militarism has become more clearly visible in the capitalist countries of Western Europe. In the majority of neutral countries the governments have come to the realization that there is a German Democratic Republic, and it is no longer prepared to support the occupation rights in West Germany and West Berlin claimed by the USA. Regarding the USA, it obviously will play the
128 strong man by bare-faced demands and thinks it will gain a better negotiating position from this. Otherwise, it cannot be explained that the USA claimed an unrestricted right to occupation in West Germany and West Berlin in its last note. The American-oriented West Berlin daily newspaper "Der Tagesspiegel" even refers to the Haager Convention of 1898 in which the conduct of occupation troops in a country captured in war was regulated. This position of leading politicians in the USA and West Germany has induced us to carry out a systematic campaign for the right to self-determination of the West German population with the demand of the right of West Germany to leave the Paris Treaties and the demand for the removal of American occupation troops from West Germany. Since the resolution of the national question of the German people is only possible through the overcoming of German imperialism, we put forward the liberation of West Germany from the shackles of the Paris Treaties of NATO and the departure of foreign troops from West Germany as prospects for the militarily neutral Germany. The strengthening of the workers-and-peasants state of the GDR and the victory of socialism is the basic condition to overcoming the imperialist past and present in all of Germany and to establishing a militarily neutral and flourishing Germany.
We assess the situation such that the GDR will be strengthened further. In this we must see that also when the borders are closed the competition with West Germany will continue. Thus, we must overcome in the next years the losses which we have suffered because of West Berlin aggression; we must carry out economic cooperation with the USSR consistently, and reach the figures of the Seven-Year Plan again in 1963. This requires a corresponding plan for 1962 which will enable the preparation for this goal.
What are our next measures? We are preparing ourselves for the conclusion of the peace treaty. By the time of the talks in the second half of October, we would like to inform you of our view "On the question of the air connections to West Berlin." The question of the air connections over the air space of the GDR is already playing the main role in discussions in the circle of Western powers. We have prohibited the false term "air corridors" to be used.
In the attached, I send you a report of a discussion with a group of House of Commons parliamentarians of the British Conservative Party, which took place on the occasion of the visit to the Leipzig Fair.
The West Berlin commandants are trying through various protests to awaken in the public the impression that a four-power status still exists in Berlin. We believe that we should no longer publish such reports of complaints of the West Berlin commandants to the chief of the Soviet garrison in Berlin. It would be best if such complaints were not accepted in general any more. When the Western powers have requests, they can report these to the Soviet government.
In the Volkskammer session of September 20, we will adopt the law for the defense of the GDR. In addition, we will carry out now the agreed-upon measures on the safe-guarding and strengthening of the GDR border with West Germany.
The key thing is economic, to make the GDR economy safe from subversion by December 1. It will facilitate the international talks if the Bonn government knows that we are well prepared for any possible blockade measures, that such measures will concern us much less than they will concern West Berlin.
129 We think it is important that the anniversary of the foundation of the GDR, October 7, be celebrated on a greater scale than has been common until now. We ask your opinion as to whether it is possible for the USSR to send a delegation of leading comrades of the party and government. We had the intention of inviting you, dear Comrade Nikita Sergeevich for October 7, but we do not presume to express the request directly, since no doubt you are busy with the preparation for the Party Congress. We request your view on the composition of the Soviet delegation so that we can propose to the people's democracies that they all send delegations of leading comrades.
I have written little about West Germany in this letter. I think, though, that we must essentially change and improve much in our work in West Germany. I will write about this later.
We are very grateful to you that you sent us Comrade Marshal [I.S.] Konev [Commander in Chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany]. This is a great help. Our cooperation is very good.
Thank you very much for the information about your interesting meeting with Mr. [Amintore] Fanfani [the Italian Prime Minister]. Your statements were very important for my further orientation.
I wish you good health and remain, with communist greetings, Yours, W. Ulbricht
130 ! 48!
Primary!Document!#4:!Excerpts!from!oral!histories!of!individuals!living!in!Bernauerstraße!
in!East!Germany.!!
Joachim!Bayer!
„Wir!lebten!früher!etwas!privilegiert!für!Ost`Berliner!Verhältnisse,!weil!mein!Vater!bis!
1961!in!West`Berlin!artbeitete.”!
„Ich!habe!13!Jahre!lang!Russisch!gelernt:!in!der!Schule!ab!der!fünften!Klasse,!in!der!Lehre,! in!der!Volkshochschule!und!nochmal!im!Studium.“!
"We!were!privileged!to!live!in!East!Berlin!because!my!father!worked!in!West!Berlin!until!
1961."!
"I!have!learned!Russian!for!13!years:!at!school!from!the!fifth!grade,!in!teaching,!at!college,! and!again!at!university."!
Chrarlotte!Obst!
„Der!Mauerbau!war!nicht!absehbar.!Es!ging!immer!das!Gerücht!herum,!aber!dem!haben!sie! ja!immer!widersprochen.!Ich!war!am!Abend!vorher!noch!drüben,!bei!meiner!Tante!in!
Reinickendorf.!Ich!hab’!mich!noch!gewundert,!daß!am!Gesundbrunnen!keine!Grenzer! standen.!Und!am!nächsten!Tag!war!die!Mauer.!Ich!hab’s!aus!dem!Fernsehen!erfahren.!Es! war!fürchterlich.!Sie!haben!alle,!die!Mauer!oder!so!waren,!zur!Mauer!beordert.!Rechts!und! links!standen!die!Leute—es!war!grausam.!Wieviele!noch!aus!den!Fenstern!gesprungen! sind.“!
"The!building!of!the!wall!was!not!foreseeable.!There!was!always!the!rumor!going!around,! but!they!always!denied!it.!I!was!there!the!night!before,!with!my!aunt!in!Reinickendorf.!I!was! still!surprised!that!there!were!no!border!materials!in!Gesundbrunnen.!And!the!next!day! was!the!wall.!I!hear!about!it!from!TV.!It!was!terrible.!They!have!ordered!all!who!were!able! ! 49!
to!help!to!the!wall.!On!the!right!and!left!stood!the!people`it!was!cruel.!How!many!jumped!
out!of!the!windows.!"!
Christa!Schuchardt!!
„Anfangs!war!die!Mauer!ja!noch!relativ!durchlässig.!Hier!aus!unserer!Gegend!sind!
Unmengen!Leute!noch!irgendwie!nach!West`Berlin!rübergelangt.!Wie,!weiß!ich!nicht,!aber!
das!hat!sich!erst!im!Laufe!der!Jahre!gefestigt.!Unsere!Familie!hat!auch!immer!überlegt:!
„Gehen!wir!nach!Westdeutschland!oder!nicht?““!
"At!first,!the!wall!was!still!relatively!permeable.!A!lot!of!people!still!somehow!crossed!to!
West!Berlin!from!our!area.!How?!I!do!not!know,!but!we've!only!found!out!over!the!years.!
Our!family!has!always!thought:!"Are!we!going!to!West!Germany!or!not?"!"!
Renate!Christian!
„Nachts!bin!ich!mit!der!S`Bahn!zurück!und!mußte!Friedrichstraße!raus,!wegen!
Pendelverkehr.!Ich!hab’!gemerkt,!daß!etwas!nicht!stimmte!und!da!was!gebaut!wurde.!Aber!
ich!war!so!weinselig!und!schläfrig!und!verliebt...!Am!nächsten!Morgen!meinte!meine!
Mutter,!daß!ich!meinen!Freund!nie!mehr!wiedersehen!würde!und!die!die!Grenze!
zugemacht!hätten.!Ich!hab’!das!erst!gar!nicht!gegelaubt.!Sie!hat!das!Radio!angemacht,!und!
meine!Schwester!war!ganz!aufgeregt.!Ich!bin!aufgesprungen,!denn!ich!war!um!vier!Uhr!
nachmittags!mit!Winfried!verabredet!!Wir!sind!zur!Grenze,!aber!die!Kampfgruppen!hatten!
schon!ein!paar!Straßen!vorher!mit!Menschenketten!alles!dichtgemacht.!Man!hat!die!
eigentlichen!Bauarbeiten!kaum!von!weitem!gesehen.!Ich!konnte!nur!noch!heulen.“!
„Wenn!die!Mauer!nicht!gekommen!wäre,!wäre!niemals!Sozialismus!entstanden.!Wie!soll!
denn!das!gehen?!Alle!sind!im!Westen!ins!Kino!gegangen.!Da!waren!viele!Kinos,!und!die!
Leute!gingen!alle!ins!Kino!oder!einkaufen.!Die!Westler!sind!ja!gar!nicht!in!die! ! 50!
Grenzgängerkinos!gegangen.!Da!waren!nur!Ostler.!25!Pfennig!hat’s!extra!für!sie!gekostet.!
Das!konnte!doch!nicht!gutgehen,!mit!der!Wirtschaft!im!Kalten!Krieg!!Wenn!das!Ostgeld!im!
Westen!landet!und!die!Leute!alle!abhauen.“!
"At!night!I!took!the!S`Bahn!back!and!had!to!get!out!Friedrichstraße,!because!of!shuttle! traffic.!I!noticed!that!something!was!wrong!and!something!was!being!built.!But!I!was!so! wistful,!sleepy,!and!in!love.!The!next!morning!my!mother!said!that!I!would!never!see!my! friend!again,!and!that!they!made!the!border.!I!didn't!believe!her.!She!turned!the!radio!on,! and!my!sister!was!quite!upset.!I!jumped!up!angry,!because!I!had!arranged!to!meet!Winfried! at!four!o'clock!in!the!afternoon.!We!went!to!the!border,!but!the!tropps!had!already!made!a! few!openings!sealed!with!chains.!The!actual!construction!work!has!hardly!been!seen!from!a! distance.!I!could!only!cry.!"!
"If!the!wall!had!not!come,!socialism!would!never!have!worked.!How!is!that!supposed!to! work?!All!Easterners!went!to!the!cinema!in!the!west.!There!were!many!cinemas,!and!the! people!went!to!the!movies!or!to!go!shopping.!The!Westerners!did!not!even!go!to!the!border! movie!theater.!There!were!only!Easterners.!It!cost!25!Pfennig!extra!for!us!Easterners.!That! could!not!do!well!with!the!cold!war!economy!!If!the!Eastern!money!lands!in!the!West,!and! the!people!all!run!away."!
Waltraud!Garstecki!
„Ich!hab’!keine!Reichtümer!da!drüben!hingebracht.!Wollte!ich!auch!nicht.!Ich!hab’!wirklich! nur!die!Bananen!für!meine!Kinder!geholt.!Und!mal!eine!Eiskonfekt.!Bis!13.!August!konnte! man!rüber,!und!dann!war!Schluß.!Aber!mir!hat!da!nichts!gefehlt,!mich!hat!es!nicht!gestört.!
Ich!habe!mich!im!Innern!eigentlich...!darüber!gefreut.!Weil!ich!sagen!konnte:!„Jetzt!kriegen! wir!Ostler!endlich!auch!mal!Platz!in!den!Gaststätten.!Und!in!den!Ausflugslokalen.!Und!die! ! 51!
Dampfer!sind!nicht!so!voll.“!Denn!die!haben!ja!alles!hier!bei!uns!weggenommen!!Sie!sind!zu! uns!in!den!Gaststätte!essen!gekommen.!Sie!haben!die!Ausflugslokale!und!die!Dampfer! bevölkert.“!
"I!have!not!brought!any!riches!over!there.!I!did!not!want!to.!I!really!only!got!the!bananas!for! my!children.!And!sometimes!an!ice!cream.!Until!August!13th,!one!could!go!over,!and!then!it! was!over.!But!there!was!nothing!missing,!it!did!not!bother!me.!I!was!really!looking!forward! to!it.!Because!I!could!say:!"Now!we!finally!get!Eastern!restaurants!!And!the!steamboats!are! not!crowded.!"Because!they!have!taken!everything!away!here!with!us!!They!have!come!to! us!in!the!restaurants.!They!have!populated!the!tourist!areas!and!the!steamboats."!
Waltraud!Ziervogel!
„Es!gab!Leute,!die!vom!Mauerbau!gewußt!haben.!Einige!wenige,!die!im!letzten!Moment! noch!abgehauen!sind.!Geschäftsleute!hauptsächlich.!Bei!uns!war!es!so:!Das!Hobby!von! meinen!Mann!und!mir!war!es,!ein`!oder!zweimal!in!der!Woche!im!Westen!ins!Kino!zu! gehen.!Am!Sonnabend,!den!12.!August,!sind!wir!rübergefahren!und!ins!Kino!gegangen.!Wir! laufen!zurück,!um!half!elf,!half!zwölf,!und!gucken!noch!Schaufenster.!Ich!sag’!zu!meinen!
Mann:!„Willst!du!dir!nicht!noch!ein!paar!Zigaretten!mitnehmen?“!„Ach,!die!kann!ich!mir! morgen!holen.“!Naja,!und!am!Tag!danach!ist!es!passiert.“!
"There!were!people!who!knew!about!building!the!wall.!A!few!left!right!at!the!last!moment.!
Businessmen!mainly.!With!us!it!was!like!this:!The!hobby!of!my!husband!and!I!was!to!go!to! the!cinema!once!or!twice!a!week!in!the!west.!On!Saturday,!August!12th,!we!went!over!to!the! cinema.!We!came!back!around!11:30,!12:30ish,!and!were!looking!at!shop!windows.!I!said!to! my!husband,!"Do!not!you!want!to!take!some!more!cigarettes!with!you?"!"Oh,!I!can!get!it! tomorrow."!Well,!and!the!day!after!it!happened.!"! ! 52!
Primary!Document!#5:!Audio!Interview!with!Kurt!Schult!and!Susanne!Köllner!
To(be(transcribed(
!
Primary!Document!#6:!Peter!Richter!Audio!Interview!with!Nicholas!Redmon!(June!11,!
2017)!segment!!
“When!the!Wall!came!down,!we!didn’t!believe!it.!It!took!us!weeks!to!get!the!courage!to!go!to!
West!Berlin.!We!were!just!naturally!shy!and!private!people,!us!East!Germans.!The!thought! of!going!to!this!part!of!the!forbidden!portion!of!Berlin!didn’t!feel!right.!The!feeling!that!I!felt! when!I!went!to!West!Berlin!was!shame.!For!example,!when!we!drove!our!Trabi!down!their! streets,!it!puffed!out!a!stream!of!smoke!for!all!the!West!Berliners!to!see,!and!we!just!sunk!in! our!seats.!Our!son!had!a!good!few!years!after!the!Wall!came!down!because!every!East!
German!toy!was!cheap,!and!no!one!wanted!them!anymore,!so!we!bought!a!lot!of!it!cheap,! and!he!loved!it.”!
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Primary!Document!#7:!Angela!Merkel!Speech!excerpt!January!1,!2007!to!the!European!
Parliament.!!
Speech by Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, to the European Parliame... Page 1 of 5
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January ^^"S C/^,^.,.4 .-4:6,·
17.01.2007 /'„¿ïtL^f ¿-.^È>-••••>:.'..-.¿-t~fl· cTo-^t-Ht-Lu-« . -¿> „.' Speech by Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, 17 January 2007
Mr President, Hans-Gerd Pöttering,
Mr President of the Commission, José Manuel Barroso,
Deputies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am delighted to be speaking to you today for the first time as the President of the Council here in this European Parliament, a parliament which now has members from 27 countries. Allow me, therefore, once again to extend a warm welcome to the deputies from Romania and Bulgaria.
I would like once again to congratulate the President and Vice-President of the European Parliament, who were elected yesterday, on behalf of the whole Council, and express my hope that we will enjoy good, close, constructive and intensive cooperation, as we can expect from a Parliament which knows its own mind, as the President just said.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have spent my whole life in Europe. And yet I am still a relatively youngster in the European Union. That is because I grew up in the former German Democratic Republic, and only 17 years ago, after German reunification and the collapse of the socialist system, was I, together with many millions of others, accepted into the European Union. Consequently, until the age of 35 I only knew the European Union from the outside, and have only been an insider since 1990.
Almost everything in life looks slightly different from the inside than it does from the outside, as we well know. That goes for all houses, and it is also the case with Europe. From the outside, the European Union is a historic success story without precedent. The European Union is one of the most impressive works of peace on Planet Earth. European unification is a happy achievement for the people of Europe. It safeguards their freedom and paves the way for prosperity.
The Treaties of Rome will soon be 50 years old. We will be celebrating this anniversary on 24 and 25 March in Berlin, a city which „ÚÂÁ like no other the reunification of Europe following the end of the Cold War. But let's be honest. Fifty years is hardly more than ÿlinking of an eye in the context of history. Nonetheless, an incredible amount has been achieved in this short time! That, then, is Europe as perceived from the outside.
Yet from the inside, too, the European Union is a wonderful house. In fact I find it even more beautiful from the inside than from the outside. That, at least, has been my personal experience in the last 17 years.
Ladies and gentlemen, I don't ever want to leave this house. I am convinced that there is no better place for us to live than in our shared European home!
We are now in the process of fitting it out. We are extending it. We are renovating parts of it. Sometimes I think we are so busy extending and renovating the building to allow almost half a billion Europeans to make their home there, that we could easily overlook its greatness and uniqueness in the midst of all the construction work. Then we are hardly able to see what is special about the building and what is at its heart.
Ladies and gentlemen, when you are at home, you will sense that this is the situation for many people in Europe today. They are asking themselves, "What should Europe be?" "Why do we need Europe?" "What holds Europe together in its innermost being?" "What defines this European Union?"
Some believe that the attempt to define the essence of Europe is pointless. To be quite honest, I beg to differ. Let me remind you of Jacques Delors' famous appeal that we have "to give a soul to Europe".
top
Allow me to add my own thoughts - we have to find Europe's soul. For we do not really need to give a soul to Europe - it already has one.
Is this soul synonymous with diversity? Hardly anyone has expressed this more beautifully than the author Karel ?apek, a great European
http://www.eu2007.de/en/News/Speeches_Interviews/January/Rede_Bundeskanzlerin2.html 23/01/2007 ! ! 54!
Primary!Document!#8:!Speech!by!Angela!Merkel!October!3,!2014!about!reunification.!
Found!at!http://www.reuters.com/article/us`germany`unity`merkel/merkel`draws`
lessons`from`peaceful`german`unity`24`years`ago`idUSKCN0HS17G20141003!
Merkel!said!the!basic!rights!which!she!and!her!fellow!East!Germans!won!with!the!
fall!of!the!Berlin!Wall!in!1989!and!German!unification!11!months!later!on!Oct.!3,!1990,!had!
to!be!defended!repeatedly!everywhere!they!were!threatened.!
“The!events!of!1989!and!1990!in!Germany!can!help!us!because!they!symbolize!the!
victory!of!freedom!over!oppression,!they!symbolize!what!can!happen!when!partners!
cooperate!and!trust!each!other!and!they!symbolize!what!can!happen!with!patience,!and!
they!symbolize!that!we!can!work!to!help!things!turn!for!the!better.”!
Merkel,!who!grew!up!in!Communist!East!Germany!and!was!a!young!scientist!in!East!
Berlin!when!the!Berlin!Wall!opened,!said!Germany’s!peaceful!revolution!in!1989!was!proof!
that!the!tide!can!eventually!turn!for!the!right!cause.!
“Everything!is!possible.!That’s!what!I!and!millions!of!other!East!Germans! experienced!first!hand,”!she!said.!“So!we!shouldn’t!be!discouraged!by!everything!happening! in!2014.!On!the!contrary,!unification!day!shows!us!what’s!possible.”!
Merkel!said!German!unification!has!been!a!great!success!story!even!though!there! were!still!some!considerable!gaps!economically!and!socially!between!east!and!west!
Germany.!“We’ve!obviously!still!got!a!lot!of!work!to!do,”!she!said.!
An!opinion!poll!released!by!the!Emnid!institute!on!Thursday!said!23!percent!of! easterners!felt!they!were!the!“losers”!of!unification.!
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! ! ! 55!
Appendix!of!Videos!
Video!Interview!#1:!Dieter!Xander!
!
Video!Interview!#2:!Luise!Winkler!
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! ! 56!
Video!Inteview!#3:"Bernd"Rüschel!
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Video!Interview!#4:!Martina!Mieth!
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! ! 57!
Video!Interview!#5:!Gunter!
!
Video!Interview!#6:!Thomas!Rost!
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! ! 58!
Video!Interview!#7:!Birgit!
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Video!Interview!#8:!Thomas!Thummler!
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! ! 59!
Video!Interview!#9:!Andrea!und!Kerstin!
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Video!Interview!#10:!Inge!Büschlen!
! ! ! 60!
Appendix!of!Fiction!Sources!
Fiction!Novel!#1:!“A!Night!Divided”!by!Jennifer!Nielsen!
1! ! There!was!no!warning!the!night!the!wall!went!up.! I!awake!to!sirens!screaming!throughout!my!city!of!East!Berlin.!Instantly,!I!flew!from! my!bed.!Something!must!be!terribly!wrong.!Why!were!there!so!many?! Although!it!was!a!warm!morning,!that!wasn’t!the!reason!for!my!sweaty!palms!or! flushed!face.!My!first!thought!was!that!it!must!be!an!air!raid—my!parents!had!described! them!to!me!from!the!Second!World!War.!I!pulled!my!curtains!apart,!expecting!the!worst.! But!when!I!looked!out,!my!heart!slammed!into!my!throat.!Not!even!the!darkest!part!of!my! imagination!could!have!prepared!me!for!this.!! ! It!was!Sunday,!August!13,!1961,!a!day!I!would!remember!for!the!rest!of!my!life.! When!a!prison!had!been!built!around!us!as!we!slept.!! ! Lines!of!Grenzers—our!nickname!for!the!border!police,!the!Grenztruppen—stood! gruard!along!a!fence!of!thorny!wire,!in!some!places!higher!than!their!heads,!and!for!as!far! as!my!eyes!could!see.!They!stood!like!iron!statues!with!stern!expressions!and!long!rifles!in! their!hands.!It!was!obvious!that!anyone!who!tried!to!cross!would!get!far!worse!than!a!rip!in! their!clothes.!Because!the!Grenzers!didn’t!face!the!westerners!on!the!other!side!of!the! fence.!They!watched!us.!! ! It!was!very!clear!who!they!planned!to!shoot!if!there!was!any!trouble.! ! If!I!had!looked,!I!could!have!warned!my!family!in!time,!just!as!our!neighbor!Herr! Krause!tried!to!warn!us.! ! He!knew!this!was!coming.!Hadn’t!he!said!for!years!that!our!government!was!not!to! be!trusted?!That!we!might!salute!the!flag!of!East!Germany,!but!that!it!was!really!Russia!we! bowed!to?!And!my!father!had!known.! ! My!father!! ! As!if!she!had!heard!my!thoughts,!from!out!in!the!kitchen!I!heard!Mama!cry,!“Aldous!”! ! That!was!his!name.!And!with!a!final!glance!out!the!window,!I!remembered!the! reason!for!Mama’s!screams.!! ! My!father!wasn’t!here.!Nor!was!my!brother!Dominic.!They!had!been!in!the!west!for! two!nights,!and!were!supposed!to!have!come!home!later!today.!With!an!endless!row!of! guns!and!soldiers!between!us,!the!fence!just!changed!that.!!! ! Eventually,!Mama!dried!her!tears!and!told!me!and!Fritz!to!go!get!dressed,!that!we! ought!to!see!the!fence!for!ourselves.!! It!was!still!very!early!in!the!morning,!and!large!bulldozers!could!be!heard,!already! tearing!down!homes!or!hundred`year`old!trees!that!were!in!the!way!of!the!fence.!Along! with!most!of!the!people!in!my!neighborhood,!I!stood!on!the!road,!facing!the!guns!that!faced! us.!Mama!held!one!of!my!hands!and!Fritz!held!the!other.!No!one!around!me!cried,!and!not! even!the!strongest!men!fought!back.!! Why!didn’t!we?!I!looked!around,!waiting!for!someone!to!rush!at!the!officers!in!a!cry! for!freedom.!Then!others!would!join!in!and!fight!until!we!overpowered!the!guards!and! showed!them!we!refused!to!be!held!in!here!like!criminals.!! Or!until!enough!of!us!were!shot.!The!guards!looked!prepared!to!do!that,!if!necessary.!! ! 61!
Probably!everyone!here!already!understood!that,!because!like!me,!they!only!stood! and!watched.!Maybe!we!were!all!too!empty!for!tears,!and!too!horrified!for!words.!! The!people!around!me!had!already!given!a!name!to!this!day:!Barbed!Wire!Sunday.! The!day!that!divided!a!city,!and!eventually!a!country.!Worst!of!all,!the!day!that!divided!my! family.!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 62!
2! ! It!didn’t!take!long!for!the!government!to!realize!that!couldn’t!guard!the!fence!so! heavily!forever.!Even!with!the!fence!and!armed!soldiers,!people!were!still!finding!ways!out.! If!things!were!bad!in!our!city!before,!they!would!only!get!worse!now.!We!all!knew!that.! Some!people!made!runs!in!the!dark!and!literally!tore!their!way!to!freedom.!Others! tried!swimming!the!canals!where!the!barbed!wire!couldn’t!reach.!At!least!one!family!simply! ducked!low!to!avoid!gunfire!and!crashed!their!car!though!the!fence.! Nobody!asked!who!might!try!leaving!next,!but!everybody!wondered.!I!kept!waiting! for!Mama!to!tell!us!we!were!leaving!too.!Surely!she!would,!any!day!now.!But!she!never!did.! Maybe!she!had!been!a!prisoner!here!long!before!the!fence!appeared.!! Fritz!turned!to!Mama!and!lowered!his!voice!so!only!the!three!of!us!could!hear.! “There’s!talk!about!an!apartment!nearby!that!sits!right!on!the!border.!You!can!enter!the! back!of!the!building!from!the!east!and!walk!out!the!front!doors!into!the!west.!Go!straight! through!the!fence.”! Mama!shook!her!head.!“The!government!wont!tolerate!that!for!long.!I!don’t!want!to! be!there!when!they!come.”! And!they!did.!Only!a!few!days!later,!the!government!bricked!up!all!the!lower!exits!of! that!building,!thinking!that!would!solve!the!problem.!But!then!people!started!jumping!from! the!upper!windows,!hoping!the!crowd!below!on!the!west!side!would!help!to!catch!them.! Fritz!was!there!a!week!later,!watching!from!a!distance!when!a!woman!threw!down!a! mattress!and!all!her!bedding!from!the!third!floor!while!our!police!banged!on!her!locked! apartment!door.!When!the!police!got!inside,!she!finally!leapt!out.!But!the!cushions!weren’t! enough!for!the!hard!concrete!below.!! The!morning!after,!Fritz!showed!me!the!newspaper!that!described!her!as!a!deserter! and!someone!with!a!weak!mind!who!had!believed!the!lies!from!the!west.!! I!barely!breathed!as!I!read!the!article,!but!managed!to!say,!“She!died!trying!to!get! free!!Why!don’t!they!care?”! Fritz!pointed!to!the!final!paragraph,!which!warned!the!rest!of!us!not!to!try!the!same! thing.!“They!care!plenty!!Because!they!want!everyone!to!know!hers!won’t!be!the!only! death.”!His!warm!brown!eyes!met!mine.!“Even!children,!Gerta.”! ! ! ! 63!
3! ! The!fence!began!to!be!replaced!with!a!concrete!wall!that!was!taller,!thicker,!and! stronger.!Sharp!edges!of!broken!glass!were!cemented!into!the!top!to!prevent!anyone!from! climbing!over!it,!and!watchtowers!were!built!so!fewer!officers!could!guard!larger!areas.! With!one!stacked!block!of!concrete!over!another,!our!prison!slowly!became!a!fortress.!And! all!we!did!was!watch.!! With!each!brick,!my!hopes!faded!until!nothing!was!left.!If!there!had!ever!been!a! chance!of!Dominic!and!my!father!returning,!then!the!wall!took!that!too.!My!school!teacher! taught!us!a!new!song!that!thanked!our!leaders!for!building!a!wall!to!keep!the!fascists!out.!I! muted!my!glare!and!only!mouthed!the!words!when!my!teacher!was!looking—I!couldn’t! bear!to!sing!the!lies.!! After!a!couple!of!months,!the!west!sent!tanks!to!watch!their!side!of!the!border,!so! Russia!sent!tanks!to!our!side!of!the!border.!The!soldiers!stared!at!one!another!through! binoculars;!each!trying!to!guess!which!side!would!fire!first.!They!all!had!fingers!on!their! triggers.!! “One!side!has!to!back!down!or!we’ll!have!a!third!world!war,”!Mama!said!over!dinner! one!night.!! The!tone!in!her!voice!sent!shudders!through!me,!but!I!still!mumbled,!“If!the!west! wins!the!war,!Papa!could!come!home.”! Fritz!kicked!me!under!the!table,!but!it!was!too!late.!Mama!looked!up!with!eyes! widened!by!dark!memories.!“If!the!west!wins!again,!then!there’ll!be!nothing!to!come!back! to,”!she!said.!Her!eyes!glazed!over,!and!I!knew!she!was!remembering!things!she!had!often! described!to!us!from!the!last!war—the!nightly!bombings,!constant!hunger,!and!millions!of! deaths!of!both!soldiers!and!civilians.!Nobody!wanted!another!war,!not!even!if!it!brought!the! wall!down.!! “We!will!never!be!able!to!leave,”!Mama!said.!“The!sooner!you!both!accept!that,!the! happier!you!will!be.”! I!nodded!back!at!her.!But!I!knew!I!could!never!again!be!happy!here.!And!I!refused!to! accept!my!life!inside!a!prison.!! ! ! ! ! ! 64!
4! ! Mama!once!said!the!most!wonderful!thing!about!being!young!is!our!ability!to!make! things!normal.!That!whatever!life!does!to!us,!no!matter!how!strange,!it!isn’t!long!before! insanity!seems!ordinary,!as!if!upside!down!is!the!way!things!should!be.! That!didn’t!make!sense!to!me!at!first,!but!over!the!next!four!years!after!the!wall! went!up,!I!saw!it!happen!more!and!more.!Most!children!barely!noticed!the!wall!any!longer.! They!played!hoops!beneath!the!eyes!of!armed!border!guards!in!their!watchtowers,!rolled! marbles!in!the!shade!of!the!wall,!and!learned!to!do!as!they!were!told!without!asking! questions.!! “Gerta,!stop!staring!at!the!wall,”!Anna!whispered!to!me.!“Do!you!think!the!soldiers! don’t!notice.”! “I!think!its!too!cold!for!them!to!bother!with!me,”!I!said.!“They!watch!the!university! students,!and!the!men!whose!families!are!on!the!other!side.!They!don’t!watch!twelve`year` old!girls!on!their!way!to!school.”! “Yes,!they!do,”!Anna!insisted.!“Turn!away,!please.!Look!at!anything!else.”! “At!what?”!I!gestured!around!me.!“There’s!nothing!else!to!see.!With!all!this!gray! around!us,!it’s!hard!to!remember!we!live!in!a!world!of!color!”! We!called!it!Communist!Gray.!IT!was!the!color!of!our!buildings,!our!markets,!our! streets.!The!color!of!our!buildings,!our!markets,!our!streets.!The!color!of!the!wall.!Even!the! skies!were!gray!today.!Somehow!the!GDR!must!have!figured!out!how!to!bleach!that!out!too.!! ! ! ! ! ! 65!
5! ! Nothing!in!East!Germany!frightened!me!more!than!the!Stasi.!We!always!knew!they! were!there,!even!when!we!couldn’t!see!them.!They!existed!to!protect!our!country!from! enemies;!either!foreign!spies!trying!to!get!in,!or!traitors!who!wanted!to!get!out.!My!family! wasn’t!either,!but!that!didn’t!mean!we!were!safe.!! After!my!father!left,!I!had!thought!there’d!be!no!need!for!them!to!visit!us!anymore,! but!they!obviously!disagreed.!They!had!last!come!almost!two!years!ago,!late!at!night,!long! after!we!should!have!been!in!bed.!I!think!their!timing!was!meant!to!make!us!nervous,!and! from!the!looks!on!my!family’s!faces,!it!worked.!Fritz!and!I!had!sat!on!either!side!of!Mama!on! the!couch.!While!she!answered!their!questions,!I!kept!an!eye!on!their!weapons.!If!they’d! only!come!to!ask!questions,!why!did!they!bring!guns?! The!Stasi!officer!who!had!sat!in!Papa’s!old!chair!was!on!his!second!cigarette!before! the!hard!questions!came.!! “Has!Aldous!Lowe!returned!to!East!Berlin?”! I!was!sure!I!could!hear!Mama’s!heart!pounding!beside!me.!Or!maybe!it!was!mine,! because!the!officer’s!tone!made!it!clear!that!he!was!no!friend!to!my!father.!Mama!shook!her! head,!and!if!she!was!trying!to!answer!in!a!calm!voice,!it!didn’t!work.!“I!have!not!seen!my! husband!since!the!wall!went!up.”! “Good,”!the!officer!said.!“We!will!arrest!him!if!he!does!return.”!He!took!a!long!drag! on!his!cigarette.!“Does!he!continue!to!work!against!the!government?”! “He!never!did,”!Mama!said.!! Another!man!who!had!stood!by!the!door!walked!forward!with!photos!that!he!placed! in!her!hands.!I!leaned!over!just!enough!to!see!an!old!picture!of!my!father!and!Herr!Krause,! both!with!stacks!of!leaflets!in!their!hands.!I!didn’t!know!what!was!on!them,!but!from!the! terse!expression!on!the!officer’s!face,!it!was!obviously!something!more!than!party! invitations!or!store!coupons.!! Mama!quickly!handed!the!photos!back.!“I!have!no!idea!what!my!husband!is!doing! now.!He!does!not!involve!us!in!those!activities,!and!never!did.”! He!never!involved!Mama!or!me.!But!Fritz!hadn’t!looked!at!the!pictures,!and!I! wondered!if!that!was!because!he!already!knew!what!my!father!had!been!doing.! “Has!Aldous!Lower!tried!to!contact!you?”!the!officer!asked.!! Mama!shook!her!head,!but!when!she!paused!for!too!long,!I!spoke!for!her.!“We!have! no!letter,!and!you!cut!the!phone!lines!to!the!west!on!Barbed!Wire!Sunday.”! The!officer!turned!his!attention!to!me.!His!eyes!were!like!ice!on!my!bare!skin.!“I!cut! some!of!them!myself,!child.!Does!that!anger!you?”! Of!course!it!did,!but!he!had!the!gun,!so!I!only!looked!down!while!Mama!made! humble!apologies!for!my!boldness!and!gripped!my!wrist!like!a!vise.!The!Stasi!left!soon! afterward,!but!even!now,!two!years!later,!I!still!felt!a!chill!whenever!I!thought!of!them.!! Since!that!night,!Mama!carefully!made!sure!we!did!everything!that!might!be! expected!of!a!good!East!German!family.!We!waved!our!flags!at!the!parades!and!smiled!at! the!leaders!of!the!GDR—German!Democratic!Republic—our!Communist!government.!If! anyone!was!watching!us—and!we!suspected!they!were—my!family!now!looked!as!loyal!as! the!best!of!them.! ! ! ! 66!
6! ! Then!some!movement!at!the!all!caught!my!attention,!and!when!I!saw!what!it!was,!I! laughed.!A!rabbit!had!become!trapped!in!the!Death!Strip—they!often!did.!But!was!always! amusing!to!see!the!Grenzers!come!running!to!try!chasing!it!away.!They!didn’t!like!the!prints! the!rabbits!left!behind!in!their!perfectly!smooth!dirt.!! Over!the!past!four!years,!what!started!as!a!simple!barbed`wire!fence!had!evolved! into!an!entire!system!designed!to!stop,!capture,!or!kill!anyone!who!tried!to!get!through.!In! most!places!in!East!Germany,!even!before!reaching!the!wall!there!was!an!open!border!area! that!nobody!would!dare!get!close!to!unless!they!had!a!death!wish.!People!who!encountered! the!Grenzers!there!on!patrol!often!disappeared,!sometimes!for!days.!Sometimes!forever.!!! Behind!it!was!the!Backland!Wall,!which!I!passed!each!day.!It!was!a!simple!concrete! wall!that!surrounded!West!Berlin,!making!that!free!half!of!the!city!an!island!within! Communist!East!Germany.!What!I!knew!of!the!area!behind!the!Backland!Wall!came!only! from!the!glimpses!I!saw!from!my!window,!or!occasionally!from!Anna’s!bedroom!if!she! didn’t!catch!me!looking,!and!from!what!Fritz!told!me!he!had!seen!while!out!on!bricklaying! jobs.!Beyond!the!Backland!Wall!was!another!barbed`wire!fence!that!might!have!been! electrified,!which!I!figured!was!bad!enough,!but!Fritz!thought!it!was!something!else.!He! believed!it!send!a!signal!to!the!guards!in!the!watchtowers.!If!it!was!true,!that!would!be! worse.!! Past!that!was!what!we!called!the!Death!Strip.!The!government!hadn’t!given!it!that! name,!but!they!didn’t!discourage!its!use!either.!Soldiers!and!fierce!dogs!often!patrolled!it,! barriers!and!deep!trenches!were!set!up!to!stop!any!vehicles!that!tried!to!crash!through,!and! the!dirt!was!left!smooth!so!on!the!rare!chance!that!someone!did!get!that!far,!it!would!be! easy!to!follow!him.!! Soldiers!were!ordered!to!shoot!on!sight,!and!shoot!to!kill—they!never!hid!that!fact.! And!they!had!done!it!before.!Western!television!broadcast!the!pictures!of!border!guards! carrying!dead!bodies!out!of!the!Death!Strip!or!pulling!them!from!the!water.!I’d!seen!it! myself,!at!least!when!we!could!catch!the!television!signal!here.!Our!government!would!then! respond!with!ridiculous!excuses!such!as!heart!failure!or!a!swimming!day!gone!bad.!Well,! heart!failure!didn’t!cause!bleeding!wounds!ripped!through!a!person’s!gut,!and!nobody!ever! swam!the!Spree!River!for!fun.!They!had!tried!to!escape,!and!had!failed,!reminders!of!our! own!fate!should!we!try!it!too.!There!were!some!successes,!no!doubt,!thought!we!didn’t!hear! about!them!as!often.!Those!who!escaped!usually!kept!quiet!about!it.!They!didn’t!want!their! loved!ones!left!behind!in!the!east!to!be!punished.!! Eventually,!the!rabbit!hopped!away,!or!perhaps!someone!I!couldn’t!see!chased!it!off.! I!never!could!figure!out!how!the!rabbits!got!inside!in!the!first!place.!Since!they!couldn’t!pass! through!solid!concrete,!they!would’ve!had!to!dig!a!tunnel!underneath.!Even!the!animals! wanted!to!leave!East!Berlin,!I!suppose.!! ! ! ! ! ! 67!
7! ! “Anna’s!parents!got!a!visit!from!the!Stasi!this!afternoon.!Peter!attempted!an!escape! last!night,!hidden!in!a!special!panel!of!a!car!from!the!west.!He!was!discovered!before! reaching!the!border!and!tried!to!make!a!run!to!the!west,!but!they!shot!him!in!the!back.!In!all! the!confusion,!the!students!driving!the!car!were!able!to!escape,!but!Peter!didn’t!make!it.”! Mama!grabbed!my!hand!and!gave!it!a!squeeze.!“Anna!probably!got!the!news!once!she!had! come!home!from!school.!The!family!has!been!allowed!a!day!home!tomorrow!to!mourn!his! loss,!but!this!will!be!a!terrible!time!for!them.!I!thought!you!should!know.!It’s!a!reminder!to! us!all!of!what!happens!to!those!who!try!to!escape.”! They!die.! ! “It’s!a!cold!morning,”!Fritz!wasn’t!quite!as!cheery!as!Mama!had!sounded,!but!his!tone! also!didn’t!match!his!bruise!or!the!heavy!bags!under!his!eyes.!“Maybe!I’ll!build!us!a!fire! while!you!cook.!Help!me!with!it,!Gerta.”! Fritz!stacked!a!few!sticks!of!wood!in!our!fireplace!and!grabbed!a!handful!of!papers!to!use!as! kindling.! He!picked!up!the!first!paper!and!I!saw!his!handwriting!on!it,!which!said,!Be!careful! what!you!say.!The!apartment!is!bugged.! Bugged?!A!thousand!questions!instantly!leapt!into!my!mind.!Where!were!the! microphones?!How!long!had!they!been!here?!Who!was!listening!to!them?! He!knew!I’d!read!it!because!my!eyes!were!wide!with!fear.!Then!he!crumpled!up!the! paper!and!stuffed!it!into!the!middle!of!the!wood!stack.! The!next!paper!had!already!been!written!out!for!Mama.!It!said,!The!Stasi!knew!about! a!private!conversation!between!me!and!Gerta!the!other!night.!They!listen!to!every!word!we! say!in!here.!! My!mouth!went!dry.!I!remembered!listening!to!the!Beatles!and!I!was!sure!we!had! complained!about!the!GDR,!because!we!usually!did!at!night.!That!same!conversation!in! Fritz’s!bedroom!was!where!I!had!told!Mama!the!details!about!seeing!Dominic.!She!had! come!in!unexpectedly,!cutting!off!our!conversation!about!Peter.! Fritz!said!Peter!had!told!no!one!else!about!his!escape.!And!Fritz!had!told!nobody!about!it! but!me.! We!were!the!reason!they!had!caught!him.!The!reason!he!was!killed.! Tears!filled!my!eyes!and!I!shook!my!head,!horrified!at!what!all!of!this!meant.!But! Fritz!had!a!paper!for!that!too.!He!rummaged!through!a!few!in!his!stack!until!he!found!one! that!said,!We!didn’t!know.!But!we!do!now!and!we’ll!be!more!careful.!We!must!sound!happy.!! ! ! ! ! ! 68!
8! ! This!wasn’t!a!surprise.!Papa!had!told!me!the!same!thing!himself,!and!we’d!had!visits! from!Stasi!agents!to!our!apartment.!! Fritz!continued,!“Then!they!showed!me!another!file,!one!with!my!name!on!it.”! I!stopped!walking!to!stare!at!him.!“Why?!What!have!you!done?! “Nothing!!Or!at!least!I!didn’t!think!I!had.!But!they!know!Papa!is!in!the!west!now!and! so!they’re!watching!to!see!if!he!contacts!me,!or!if!his!friends!do.!Maybe!on!day!I’ll!happen!to! bump!into!someone!who!used!to!know!him.!If!anyone!ever!asks!about!Father,!someone!is! bound!to!hear!it!and!then!that!report!will!go!into!my!file.”! “Well,!if!you!haven’t!done!anything!wrong,!then!they!can!make!your!file!as!big!as! they!want.!If!you!obey!all!the!rules,!everything!will!be!fine,!right?”!I!looked!over,!hoping!to! see!him!agree!with!me.!“Isn’t!that!right,!Fritz?”! But!he!shook!his!head!and!lowered!his!voice!to!almost!a!whisper.!“They!told!me! what!the!file!means.!I’ve!been!branded!a!potential!enemy!of!the!state.!It!doesn’t!matter!to! them!if!I’ve!done!anything!wrong.!They!just!figure!I!will,!one!day.!With!that!file,!I!won’t!be! allowed!to!go!to!a!university,!or!to!get!a!good!job.!By!the!end!of!June,!I’ll!be!old!enough!for! the!military,!and!before!they!put!a!gun!in!my!hand,!theat!file!means!I’ll!get!special!training! until!they’re!sure!I!believe!the!way!they!do.!Once!I!wear!that!uniform,!I’ll!get!the!most! dangerous!assignments,!the!ones!few!people!survive.!That!file!means!I!have!no!chance!in! life,!none.!They’ve!already!determined!that!I!will!fail.”! “All!because!of!Paper?”!I!asked.!“None!of!that’s!your!fault.”! “I’m!not!blaming!him,”!Fritz!said.!“I!smuggled!in!that!Beatles!record!and!that!banana! on!your!birthday,!and!other!stuff!you!don’t!know!about.!Nothing!bad,!but!nothing!I’d!want! to!get!caught!with!either.!They!must’ve!heard!me!complain!about!the!government!every! night!on!their!microphones,!and!I’ve!never!made!it!any!secret!I!don’t!want!to!join!the! military.!My!files!might’ve!started!because!of!Father,!but!I’m!the!one!who’s!been!filling!it.”! “Well,!I!won’t!let!you!fail,”!I!said!stubbornly.!“If!you!can’t!get!a!job,!then!you’ll!live! with!me.!If!they!brainwash!you,!then!I’ll!come!talk!you!out!of!it!when!you!come!home.! Whatever!they!do!to!you,!Mama!and!I!will!be!there!to!help.”! Fritz!rubbed!the!top!of!my!head!with!his!hand.!Usually,!I!hated!that,!but!not!this!time.!It!was! his!way!of!showing!affection,!and!I!wanted!that!comfort!from!him!now.!Then!he!sighed!and! said,!“You!don’t!understand!how!bad!it!is,!Gerta.!They!have!a!file!on!you!to!
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Appendix!of!Primary!Source!Analysis!Worksheets!
These(worksheets(do(not(follow(the(document’s(page(numbers,(rather(they(are(inserted(in(and( are(nonQnumbered.((
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! ! Analyze a Written Document
Meet the document. Type (check all that apply): ❑ Letter ❑ Speech ❑ Patent ❑ Telegram ❑ Court document ❑ Chart ❑ Newspaper ❑ Advertisement ❑ Press Release ❑ Memorandum ❑ Report ❑ Email ❑ Identification document ❑ Presidential document ❑ Congressional document ❑ Other Describe it as if you were explaining to someone who can’t see it. Think about: Is it handwritten or typed? Is it all by the same person? Are there stamps or other marks? What else do you see on it?
Observe its parts. Who wrote it?
Who read/received it?
When is it from?
Where is it from?
Try to make sense of it. What is it talking about?
Write one sentence summarizing this document.
Why did the author write it?
Quote evidence from the document that tells you this.
What was happening at the time in history this document was created?
Use it as historical evidence. What did you fnd out from this document that you might not learn anywhere else?
What other documents or historical evidence are you going to use to help you understand this event or topic?
Materials created by the National Archives and Records Administration are in the public domain. Analyze a Map
Meet the map. What is the title? Is there a scale and compass?
What is in the legend?
Type (check all that apply): ❑ Political ❑ To p o g r a p h i c / P hy s i c a l ❑ Aerial/Satellite ❑ Relief (Shaded or Raised) ❑ Exploration ❑ Survey ❑ Natural Resource ❑ Planning ❑ Land Use ❑ Transportation ❑ Military ❑ Population/Settlement ❑ Census ❑ Other
Observe its parts. What place or places are shown?
What is labeled?
If there are symbols or colors, what do they stand for?
Who made it?
When is it from?
Try to make sense of it. What was happening at the time in history this map was made?
Why was it created? List evidence from the map or your knowledge about the mapmaker that led you to your conclusion.
Write one sentence summarizing this map.
How does it compare to a current map of the same place?
Use it as historical evidence. What did you fnd out from this map that you might not learn anywhere else?
What other documents or historical evidence are you going to use to help you understand this event or topic?
Materials created by the National Archives and Records Administration are in the public domain. Analyze a Photograph
Meet the photo. Quickly scan the photo. What do you notice frst?
Type of photo (check all that apply): ❑ Portrait ❑ Landscape ❑ Aerial/Satellite ❑ Action ❑ Architectural ❑ Event ❑ Family ❑ Panoramic ❑ Posed ❑ Candid ❑ Documentary ❑ Selfe ❑ Other Is there a caption? ❑ yes ❑ no
Observe its parts. List the people, objects and activities you see. PEOPLE OBJECTS ACTIVITIES
Write one sentence summarizing this photo.
Try to make sense of it. Answer as best you can. The caption, if available, may help. Who took this photo?
Where is it from?
When is it from?
What was happening at the time in history this photo was taken?
Why was it taken? List evidence from the photo or your knowledge about the photographer that led you to your conclusion.
Use it as historical evidence. What did you fnd out from this photo that you might not learn anywhere else?
What other documents, photos, or historical evidence are you going to use to help you understand this event or topic?
Materials created by the National Archives and Records Administration are in the public domain. Analyze a Video
Meet the video. Observe its parts. Try to make sense of it. What do you see in the video? Who do you see in the video? Who do you think made this video? Circle all that apply.
What activities do you see happening in Who do you think was supposed to see the video? the video?
Is there a title? What places do you see in the video? When is this video from? ❑ ❑
If so, what does the title tell you about the Write two words that describe this video. What is the main idea of the video? video? List two things (people, activities, or places) from the video that support the main idea.
Use it as historical evidence. Where do you think you could fnd out more information about the people, activities or places from this video?
Materials created by the National Archives and Records Administration are in the public domain. ! 70!
Appendix!of!Secondary!Source!Documents!
Secondary!Source!#1:!“The!Burned!Bridge”!by!Edith!Sheffer,!excerpt!from!pages!xv`xvii,!3`
9,!83`85,!97`99,!102`5,!121,!251`57.!
FOREWORD
PET ER SCHNEIDER
One of the impressive aspects of Edith Sheffer's major work is her method. In tead of writing a general historical overview of Germany's division and reuni- fication- of which there are dozens-she takes one exemplary case and delves deeply into it. Rather than focusing a wide lens on German division as a whole, she provides a close-up of two small neighboring towns in the central German provinces. With great care and narrative skill, she follows the local history of her two "protagonists"-the neighboring towns of Sonneberg and Neustadt bei Coburg-which became the border towns between two hostile world powers. Using an extraordinary wealth of archival material and an eye for detail, the American author successfully paints a portrait of rural Germany in the great tra- dition of Studs Terkel. The questions that Edith Sheffer investigates are interesting not only from a historical perspective but also from human, even literary, points of view. How do the inhabitants of two neighboring towns, who previously shared "one heart and one soul," behave when a strange twist of history suddenly turns them into out- posts of competing world orders? How do their relationships develop when they are unwillingly subjected to a powerful social experiment? When Neustadt, the city to the west of "Burned Bridge," lives according to the rules of the capitalist West, while Sonneberg, the city on the other side, must follow the principles of "really existing socialism"? Sheffer looks at the questions raised by this parallel research in terms of a large-scale experiment that was conducted, in a sense, by history itself and that is still not finished twenty years after reunification: which is stronger, nature or nurture? Which influence has proven more enduring after sixty years ofpolitical division and twenty-eight years of separation by the Wall- s hared traditions and history, or the effects of two different, even contrary, polit- ical systems and ways oflife? One might, as some researchers and observers have done, see communism as a kind of freezer, putting traditional values and emo- tions on ice. According to this theory, the old passions and feelings pick up where
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Appendix!of!Classroom!Documents!
Classroom!Document!#1:!Explanation!of!Berlin!Wall!Escape!Performance!Task!
Escape!the!Berlin!Wall!Performance!Task!
This!is!a!two`part!performance!task.!You!can!work!in!groups!of!two!students.!You!are!a!
citizen!living!in!Soviet`controlled!East!Germany!(Deutsche!Demokratische!Republik).!!
Part!One!Background:!You!are!to!write!an!analysis/memoir!of!what!life!is!like!
behind!the!Iron!Curtain.!This!should!be!at!least!one!page!typed!(double`spaced,!12`point! font).!It!should!explain!your!“fictitious”!but!realistic!life,!including,!your!family!and!their! story,!what!job!you!have,!what!daily!life!is!like,!censorship,!secret!police,!opportunities,! place!you!live,!food!you!eat,!school,!rumors!of!West!Germany!&!America,!etc.!This(is(not(a( paper(explaining(how(you(are(escaping,(this(is(why(you(are(escaping.((
! Part!Two!The!Escape:!The!second!portion!(which!can!also!be!done!alone)!is!to! design!an!escape!attempt(out(of(East(Berlin(into(West(Berlin.!Besides!the!wall,!mines!and! guards!surround!West!Berlin,!and!the!same!goes!for!the!wall!around!East!Germany.!I!will! grade!your!escape!attempt!between!1`10!as!being!1!–!completely!unrealistic,!up!to!a!10!–! meaning!completely!well!thought!out!and!plausible.!Use!ideas!from!history,!but!don’t!copy! someone’s!escape!attempt.!With!your!escape!attempt,!you!need!to!share!maps,!pictures,! escape!routes,!plans!on!who/what!is!helping!you,!when!are!you!going!to!do!it,!etc.,!basically! an!outline!of!the!escape!attempt.!This!can!be!done!in!any!format!–!Video,!Powerpoint,!skit,! chart,!poster,!role`play,!model,!replica,!etc.!!
! You!will!present!your!escape!attempt!to!the!class,!along!with!your!background!story.!!
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Classroom!Document!#2:!1980!Module!Day!1!! Ost!Deutschland! Ost!Deutschland! Ost!Deutschland! Bürger! Bürger! Bürger! Name:(Maren(Brahm( Name:(Aline(Brahm( Name:(Christoff(Brahm( You(live(in(East(Germany( You(live(in(East(Germany( You(live(in(East(Germany( ( ! ! Ost!Deutschland! Ost!Deutschland! Ost!Deutschland! Bürger! Bürger! Bürger! Name:(Gerlinda(Schmidt( Name:(Klaus(Schmidt( Name:(Alice(Voigt( You(live(in(East(Germany! You(live(in(East(Germany! You(live(in(East(Germany! Ost!Deutschland! Ost!Deutschland! Ost!Deutschland! Bürger! Bürger! Bürger! Name:(Nadja(Kopischke( Name:(Hans(Rembrandt( Name:(Claudia(Wegner( You(live(in(East(Germany! You(live(in(East(Germany! You(live(in(East(Germany! Ost!Deutschland! Ost!Deutschland! Ost!Deutschland! Politiker! Politiker! Politiker! Name:(Jonathan(Wegner( Name:(Erik(Kopischke( Name:(Julian(Brahm( You(live(in(East(Germany,(and( You(live(in(East(Germany,(and( You(live(in(East(Germany,(and( aren’t(happy(with(the(way( aren’t(happy(with(the(way( aren’t(happy(with(the(way( things(are(going.(Speak(out.! things(are(going.(Speak(out.! things(are(going.(Speak(out.! Ost!Deutschland! Ost!Deutschland! Ost!Deutschland! Wächter! Wächter! Wächter! Name:(Rosa(Leishman( Name:(Anna(Allenbach( Name:(Benjamin(Richter( You(are(apart(of(the(East( You(are(apart(of(the(East( You(are(apart(of(the(East( German(Police.(When(called( German(Police.(When(called( German(Police.(When(called( upon,(you(will(help( upon,(you(will(help( upon,(you(will(help( build/defend(the(walls.(! build/defend(the(walls.! build/defend(the(walls.! ! 73!
Ost!Deutschland! Ost!Deutschland! Ost!Deutschland! Wächter! Wächter! Wächter! Name:(Jonas(Richter( Name:(Alfred(Wegner( Name:(Hannah(Schulz( You(are(apart(of(the(East( You(are(apart(of(the(East( You(are(apart(of(the(East( German(Police.(When(called( German(Police.(When(called( German(Police.(When(called( upon,(you(will(help( upon,(you(will(help( upon,(you(will(help( build/defend(the(walls.! build/defend(the(walls.! build/defend(the(walls.! West! West! West! Deutschland! Deutschland! Deutschland! Bürger! Bürger! Bürger! Name:(Johannes(Brahm( Name:(Stefanie(Brahm( Name:(Lukas(Brahm( You(live(in(West(Germany( You(live(in(West(Germany( You(live(in(West(Germany( ( ! ! West! West! West! Deutschland! Deutschland! Deutschland! Bürger! Bürger! Bürger! Name:(Sven(Schmidt( Name:(Christina(Schmidt( Name:(Rudi(Voigt( You(live(in(West(Germany( You(live(in(West(Germany( You(live(in(West(Germany( ! ! ! West! West! West! Deutschland! Deutschland! Deutschland! Bürger! Bürger! Bürger! Name:(Florian(Kopischke( Name:(Inge(Rembrandt( Name:(Frederick(Wegner( You(live(in(West(Germany( You(live(in(West(Germany( You(live(in(West(Germany( ! ! ! ! 74!
West! West! West! Deutschland! Deutschland! Deutschland! Politiker! Politiker! Politiker! Name:(Wolfgang(Schmidt( Name:(Otto(Schulz( Name:(Bruno(Leishman( You(live(in(West(Germany,( You(live(in(West(Germany,( You(live(in(West(Germany,( and(aren’t(happy(with(the( and(aren’t(happy(with(the( and(aren’t(happy(with(the( way(things(are(going.(Speak( way(things(are(going.(Speak( way(things(are(going.(Speak( out.! out.! out.! Stasi! Stasi! Stasi! You(are(apart(of(the(East( You(are(apart(of(the(East( You(are(apart(of(the(East( German(Secret(Police.(You( German(Secret(Police.(You( German(Secret(Police.(You( are(to(take(people(into( are(to(take(people(into( are(to(take(people(into( custody(who(are(talking(bad( custody(who(are(talking(bad( custody(who(are(talking(bad( about(the(East(German( about(the(East(German( about(the(East(German( Government.(Make(up(a(fake( Government.(Make(up(a(fake( Government.(Make(up(a(fake( name(and(life.! name(and(life.! name(and(life.! Stasi! Stasi! Stasi! You(are(apart(of(the(East( You(are(apart(of(the(East( You(are(apart(of(the(East( German(Secret(Police.(You( German(Secret(Police.(You( German(Secret(Police.(You( are(to(take(people(into( are(to(take(people(into( are(to(take(people(into( custody(who(are(talking(bad( custody(who(are(talking(bad( custody(who(are(talking(bad( about(the(East(German( about(the(East(German( about(the(East(German( Government.(Make(up(a(fake( Government.(Make(up(a(fake( Government.(Make(up(a(fake( name(and(life.! name(and(life.! name(and(life.! !
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Classroom!Document!#3:!Bürger!and!Stasi!Role!Play!Game!
You!are!a!Bürger! You!are!a!Bürger! You!are!a!Bürger! You!are!a!Bürger! (citizen)!of!Ost! (citizen)!of!Ost! (citizen)!of!Ost! (citizen)!of!Ost! Deutschland! Deutschland! Deutschland! Deutschland!
You!are!a!Bürger! You!are!a!Bürger! You!are!a!Bürger! You!are!a!Bürger! (citizen)!of!Ost! (citizen)!of!Ost! (citizen)!of!Ost! (citizen)!of!Ost! Deutschland! Deutschland! Deutschland! Deutschland!
You!are!a!Bürger! You!are!a!Bürger! You!are!a!Bürger! You!are!a!Bürger! (citizen)!of!Ost! (citizen)!of!Ost! (citizen)!of!Ost! (citizen)!of!Ost! Deutschland! Deutschland! Deutschland! Deutschland!
You!are!a!Bürger! You!are!a!Bürger! You!are!a!Bürger! You!are!a!Bürger! (citizen)!of!Ost! (citizen)!of!Ost! (citizen)!of!Ost! (citizen)!of!Ost! Deutschland! Deutschland! Deutschland! Deutschland!
You!are!a!Bürger! You!are!a!Bürger! You!are!a!Bürger! You!are!a!Bürger! (citizen)!of!Ost! (citizen)!of!Ost! (citizen)!of!Ost! (citizen)!of!Ost! Deutschland! Deutschland! Deutschland! Deutschland!
You!are!a!Stasi! You!are!a!Stasi! You!are!a!Stasi! You!are!a!Stasi! (Secret!Police)!of! (Secret!Police)!of! (Secret!Police)!of! (Secret!Police)!of! Ost!Deutschland! Ost!Deutschland! Ost!Deutschland! Ost!Deutschland!
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Classroom!Document!#4:!Timeline!of!Berlin!Wall!creation!and!overarching!Cold!War!
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