Student Web Activity Lesson Plans

Chapter 21: The Contemporary Western World

The Berlin Wall

Introduction

The Berlin Wall did more than divide the city of Berlin into East Berlin and West Berlin. The Berlin Wall came to be a symbol of the Cold War division of the world into opposing camps. In this activity students will learn about the conditions that led to the creation of wall, life in the divided city, and the events that led to the fall of the wall.

Lesson Description
Students will go to a Web site about the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall. They will read the information and answer four questions about what they have read. Students will then write political manifestos from the perspective of an East Berliner who is calling for democracy and the tearing down of the wall.

Instructional Objectives

The learner will be able to describe the events that led to the building and, eventually, the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The learner will write a political manifesto calling for democracy and the tearing down of the Berlin Wall.

Student Web Activity Answers

It closed the border between East and West Germany in response to the flight of thousands of East Germans to the West.

The East German government claimed the Wall was a barrier to Western imperialism designed to protect East Berliners from Western aggression. However, the wall was designed primarily to stop East Berliners from escaping to West Berlin.

Life in West Berlin was much better than it was in East Berlin. East Berlin had decrepit housing, and the political conditions were dissatisfying while West Berliners lived in prosperity.

The borders between East Berlin and West Berlin opened on November 9, 1989. Germans organized mass demonstrations, which pressured the East German government for liberalization.

Students' manifestos will vary but should incorporate points about democracy and communist ideology as well as details from the Web site about the difficulties of life in East Germany and East Berlin under communism.