Der Fall Der MauerJubiläum: 20 Jahre

Objectives (two lessons):

• To understand the main reasons why Berlin and Germany were split into two for 28 years.

• To understand how this happened.

• To understand what it was like to live on both sides of the wall.

• To understand the main reasons behind the decision to knock the wall down.

Starter

Can you put these events into the correct order chronologically:

1. German is reunified.

2. American President Ronald Reagan visits Berlin and tries to persuade the Russian leader to tear down the Berlin Wall.

3. WW2 is over – Berlin is divided into 4 sectors (American, British, French and Russian).

4. East and West German borders are closed.

5. Hungary opens ist border so that East German refugees can escape.

6. Russian military make a clear boundary between East (Russian controlled) and Western (American, British and French controlled) sectors of Berlin.

7. Leaving East Germany becomes a crime and three years in prison is the punishment.

8. Because too many people had escaped East to the West (over 2.5 million since the end of the the war), a barrier was built between East and West Berlin and between East and West Germany.

9. Berlin Wall is opened.

Were you right?

3 8th May 1945: WW2 is over – Berlin is divided into 4 sectors (American, British, French and Russian).

6 26th May 1946: Russian military make a clear boundary between East (Russian controlled) and Western (American, British and French controlled) sectors of Berlin.

4 39th June 1946: East and West German borders are closed.

7 11th December 1957: Leaving East Germany becomes a crime and three years in prison is the punishment.

8 13th August 1961: Because too many people had escaped East to the West (over 2.5 million since the end of the the war), a barrier was built between East and West Berlin and between East and West Germany.

2 12th June 1987: American President Ronald Reagan visits Berlin and tries to persuade the Russian leader to tear down the Berlin Wall.

5 10th September 1989: Hungary opens ist border so that East German refugees can escape.

9 9/10th November 1989: Berlin Wall is opened.

1 3rd October 1990: German is reunified.

Why split up in the first place?

Why split up in the first place?

Russian way of government:Western Allies’ way of government:

Free elections with more than one party to choose fromIndustry and businesses owned by individual peopleGovernment inteferes little with people’s livesFreedom of speech and movement

Only one party in the government to choose from

All industry and businesses are owned by the state

Individuals aren’t allowed to make lots of profits and money

Government controlles most aspects of people’s lives

Television, radio and newspapers are all controlled by the government

No freedom of speech of movement (travelling)

8th May 1945: WW2 is over – Berlin is divided into 4 sectors (American, British, French and Russian).

26th May 1946: Russian military make a clear boundary between East (Russian controlled) and Western (American, British and French controlled) sectors of Berlin.

30th June 1946: East and West German borders are closed.

11th December 1957: Leaving East Germany becomes a crime and three years in prison is the punishment.

13th August 1961: Because too many people had escaped East to the West (over 2.5 million since the end of the the war), a barrier was built between East and West Berlin and between East and West Germany.

12th June 1987: American President Ronald Reagan visits Berlin and tries to persuade the Russian leader to tear down the Berlin Wall.

10th September 1989: Hungary opens ist border so that East German refugees can escape.

9/10th November 1989: Berlin Wall is opened.

3rd October 1990: German is reunified.

Ein VideoDer Bau der Mauer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_sbWdc_vxc

Hinterlandmauer – First line of defence. This should have stopped anyone going any further

Grenzsignalzaun – If you reached this fence, it would set off a silent alarm for the guards so that they would know to come and get youKfz-Sperre (1) – These crosses stood a couple of feet high and would stop cars getting past

Beobachtungsturm – These towers had armed guards in them and they would make sure no one got past them. Many people died trying to escape

Hundelaufleine – Dogs would go up and down this barrier and bite anyone that came near themKolonnenweg – This set of tracks allowed the guards to drive around

Lichtstraße – These powerful lights made sure that it was as bright at night time as it was in the dayKfz-Sperre (2) – This ditch was a second way of stopping cars

Sandstreifen – This line of sand would allow guards to see if anyone had got this far, but not been seen...Kontrollstreifen – Grassy “no-go” area that was watched and lit up at night

Die Berliner Mauer – The actual “Berlin Wall”. If you managed to get this far, you’d have to climb over 3.5 metres and the top was rounded so you’d probably just slip off...

What did Germany now look like?

Fences, dogs, electric fences, land mines: all “protected” the East German border. They did infact stop the East Germans from escaping.

Berlin:Berlin was a strange case.The Western allies still controlled the Western part of the city. The Russians controlled the East.If, as an East German, you managed to get into the little island that was West Berlin, you could then escape to West Germany!!

SO...

The Berlin Wall was built through the centre of Berlin and fences were built around the edge.

NOT to keep West Berliners in, BUT to keep East Germans OUT!

Let’s Recap

THE BERLIN WALL

World War Two is over!

• Berlin is divided into 4 sectors:The American, British and French in the West and the Russian in the East.

• French, British and American sectors form the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany)

• Russian zone becomes the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany)

• After Russian occupation of Eastern Europe and East Germany the majority of those living there wanted to lead independent lives and wanted the Russians to leave.

• Immigration to West Germany started mainly in the 1950s.197,000 in 1950165,000 in 1951182,000 in 1952 and331,000 in 1953

• This caused problems for the Russian government because most people were getting jobs in West Germany and the East German economy was failing!

• People leaving East Germany tended to be young, well educated people and this was known as the “Brain Drain”.

• It was a 50% increase of young, educated people leaving the East.

• Eventually, when too many people had left, the Russians decided to build a Wall to stop people from leaving East Germany.

• Construction started in August 1961

•

Immediate Effects of the Berlin Wall

• Families were split• People from the East were cut off from their

jobs in the West

• When the wall was built, it was made of just wire fence, but over the years they made it into a concrete wall

• It became 12 feet high and nearly 4 feet wide

• In 1975 they made the wall much harder to cross by adding dogs, bunkers, beds of nails, watch towers and anti vehicle trenches

End of Part One

Der Fall Der MauerJubiläum: 20 Jahre

Objectives (two lessons):

• To understand the main reasons why Berlin and Germany were split into two for 28 years.

• To understand how this happened.

• To understand what it was like to live on both sides of the wall.

• To understand the main reasons behind the decision to knock the wall down.

Starter

Why split up in the first place?

Russian way of government:Western Allies’ way of government:

Free elections with more than one party to choose fromIndustry and businesses owned by individual peopleGovernment inteferes little with people’s livesFreedom of speech and movement

Only one party in the government to choose from

All industry and businesses are owned by the state

Individuals aren’t allowed to make lots of profits and money

Government controlles most aspects of people’s lives

Television, radio and newspapers are all controlled by the government

No freedom of speech of movement (travelling)

So... What was life like?East and West?

East Or West?

Average wage: 500 Marks - Colour TV cost 6,000 Marks

Telephones and houses were bugged for sound and government

officials listened in

Every couple with kids got a flat. Television and radio channels were controlled by the government

Everyone had a job There were only 2 television channels

If couples had a baby, they got 1,000 Marks

There were thousands of spies employed by the State Security

System

Lots of free time activities organised for children, sports clubs, summer

schools etc.Very low crime rate

Men had to do 3 years military service

When couples got married they got an interest free loan for 2,000

Marks which helped them set up their homes etc.

Strong sense of community spirit Women had to work, shortly after giving birth

Democratic elections, more than one party to vote for and everyone free

to vote for who they wantLots of homeless people

Everyone was free to travel wherever they wanted

Luxury items easy to come by (stereos, cars, TVs, freezers)

Extremes of very rich people and very poor people

Men had to do 18 months military service

Freedom of speech for allNo censorship on television and radio, allowed to watch what you

want

Have to pay for child care People in business allowed to make big profits

High crime rate People were unemployed

It was hard to get a flat Rent was expensive

Positive Or Negative?

East Or West? Positive Or Negative?

Every couple with kids got a flat.

Everyone had a job

If couples had a baby, they got 1,000 Marks

Lots of free time activities organised for children, sports clubs, summer schools etc.

Strong sense of community spirit

Very low crime rate

When couples got married they got an interest free loan

for 2,000 Marks which helped them set up their

homes etc.

Average wage: 500 Marks - Colour TV cost 6,000 Marks

Men had to do 3 years military service

Telephones and houses were bugged for sound and government officials listened

in

Television and radio channels were controlled by

the government

There were only 2 television channels

There were thousands of spies employed by the State

Security System

Women had to work, shortly after giving birth

Democratic elections, more than one party to vote for

and everyone free to vote for who they want

Everyone was free to travel wherever they wanted

Freedom of speech for all

Luxury items easy to come by (stereos, cars, TVs,

freezers)

Men had to do 18 months military service

No censorship on television and radio, allowed to watch

what you want

People in business allowed to make big profits

Extremes of very rich people and very poor people

Have to pay for child care

High crime rate

It was hard to get a flat

Lots of homeless people

People were unemployed

Rent was expensive

''Until I was 18, I believed in the validity of the East German state. I was raised as an East German citizen and my mother is a Communist Party member.

I did well in school, and was one of two people chosen in 1977 from 80 applicants to study law at the university.

My fortunes changed when as a disc jockey in a student club I played a song suggesting that the Berlin wall should come down: They immediately fired me. And that meant I could never study at a university again.

Finally, I was given a position as a clerk in a small chemical company.

In an office argument with a drunken cleaning woman, I scornfully called her a communist pig!

I got 15 months in maximum-security prison for that, because she went straight to the police.''

“In our restaurant kitchen, we only had simple can openers like ones you use in homes. They were broken after the third use on the big cans we have here in the restaurant. So we opened cans with a hatchet. And as soon as we suggested any improvement, we were considered to be trouble causers”

We usually did not travel far, as international travelling was heavily regulated. Me and my family traveled to Czech Republic a couple of times and once to Hungary. Destinations further than that seemed to be reserved for party sympathizers, some of whom were allowed to travel as far as Yugoslavia, Romania and Bulgaria.

Most households could receive West German channels. Many people did that - my parents too, but they would be careful not to talk about it in public by fear of getting into trouble. Nonetheless, East Germans knew that West Germans had bigger cars and prettier houses.

So... How did it all end?

• A lot of people were unhappy with the situation in East Germany. They wanted their freedom back.

• They wanted to leave, despite the fact that there was a wall and dogs and guns and land mines etc. in the way.

• Many people tried to escape over the years, but they were mainly unsuccessful.

• Of the tens of thousands of people who attempted to escape, only about 5,000 made it to West Germany.

• There were some pretty crazy attempts, such as:Flying a hot air balloon over the wallDigging tunnels with spoonsRamming through the wall with cars

• In 1987, US President Ronald Reagan gave a speech at the Berlin Wall to celebrate the 750th anniversary of the founding of Berlin. In his speech he asked the Russian leader to “Tear Down This Wall”

Big changes!

• On 23rd August 1989, Hungary removed its borders with Austria and in September more than 13,000 East Germans escaped to Austria, and then into West Germany.

Ost DeutschlandWest

Deutschland

THEN:

• 1 East Germans flooded the West German embassies of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Austria and refused to return to East Germany

• 2 There were mass demonstrations in East Germany

• 3 The “Peaceful Revolution”: on the 4th of November there were a million people in Alexanderplatz in East Berlin

• Günter Schabowski, Party Secretary, announced that on the 10th November 1989, East Berliners would be allowed to cross the border with the proper permissions.

• Tens of thousands of East Berliners heard this statement live on television and flooded the checkpoints, demanding entry into West Berlin.

• This day:November 10th 1989is the day that the wall officially “fell”

• In the days that followed, people came to the wall with sledgehammers to chip off souvenirs, demolishing long parts of it in the process.

• These people were nicknamed “Mauerspechte” (“wall woodpeckers”)

• After this the East German regime announced the opening of ten new border crossings

• The official tearing down of the wall by the military started on the 13th June 1990 at Bernauer Straße and ended in November 1991.

• All border controls however ceased on the 1st July 1990

Facts

• The total length of the wall was approximately 100 miles

• The are in between the west and the east of the Berlin Wall was known as the Death Strip

• About 200 people were shot and killed whilst trying to escape over the wall

• 75,000 were caught and put in prison

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM2qq5J5A1s

Hausaufgaben!EITHER:Imagine you live in East Germany. Tell me about your life, what you like, dislike, want. How happy are you with your life, what would you change?

OR:

The wall had just come down, you used to live in the East: What are you thoughts? Are you glad? Are you sad? What is your life going to be like now?