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    Justin Merritt - Fall of Berlin Wall Student Worksheet

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    Justin Merritt - Fall of Berlin Wall Student Worksheet

    Uploaded by

    justin.merritt
    52 views2 pages

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    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    52 views2 pages

    Justin Merritt - Fall of Berlin Wall Student Worksheet

    Uploaded by

    justin.merritt

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    Name _______________________________________

    Directions: After reading the article, answer the following questions.

    1. What question is answered in the first paragraph?


    a. Who built the Berlin Wall?
    b. How was the Berlin Wall torn down?
    c. What was the Berlin Wall like?
    d. How could you escape past the Berlin Wall?

    2. Why was the Berlin Wall built?

    it was built to separate west and eastern Germans, primarily to stop people escaping.

    3. In what way did the Berlin Wall symbolize the “Iron Curtain”?

    the split between the east and the west.

    4. What does the word “jubilation” mean in the last paragraph?


    a. Horror
    b. Joy
    c. Disappointment
    d. Caution

    5. Which group of people do you think wanted the Berlin Wall torn down more – East Berliners or
    West Berliners? Explain your choice.

    the east Berliners.

    6. What do you think was the best method to leave East Germany and escape to West Berlin? How
    would you do it? Be as detailed as possible.

    using the restrictions that are softening, as an exploitation and take advantage of it by escaping.

    7. Why was the Berlin Wall called a “Canvas of Concrete”?

    because there was so much graffiti on the concrete walls.


    The Berlin Wall was the 97-mile-long physical barrier that separated the city of
    West Berlin from East Berlin and the rest of East Germany from 1961 until the
    East German government relaxed border controls in November 1989. The 13-
    foot-high concrete wall snaked through Berlin, effectively sealing off West
    Berlin from ground access except through heavily guarded checkpoints.
    It included guard towers and a wide area known as the “death strip” that
    contained anti-vehicle
    trenches, barbed wire, and
    other defenses. The wall
    came to symbolize the
    “Iron Curtain” that
    separated Western Europe
    and the Eastern Bloc during
    the Cold War.

    As East Germany grew


    more socialist in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, about 3.5 million East Germans fled from East Berlin into
    democratic West Berlin. From there, they could then travel to West Germany and other Western European
    countries. It became clear to the powers of East Germany that they might not survive as a state with open
    borders to the West. Between 1961 and 1989, the wall prevented almost all such emigration.

    Among the many attempts to escape included through underground tunnels, hot-air balloons, and with the
    support of organized groups of Fluchthelfer (flight helpers). The East German border guards’ shoot-to-kill
    order against refugees resulted in about 250-300 deaths
    between August 1961, and February 1989.

    Demonstrations and protests in the late 1980’s began to build


    stress on the East German government to open the city. In the
    summer of 1989, neighboring Hungary opened its border and
    thousands of East Germans fled the communist country for the
    West. The flood of refugees added to the pressure on the East
    German government to do something.

    The government planned to allow some round-trip crossings


    and announced a revised Travel Law on November 9, 1989.
    As news broke, thousands of East Germans streamed to Berlin
    border crossings. Surprised guards were overwhelmed and
    could not stop the crowds that forced the gates’ opening.
    Amid scenes of jubilation, people took hammers and chiseled
    away the wall piece by piece. Soon large segments were
    removed and remnants of the Berlin Wall became souvenirs
    all over the world. Larger chunks were shredded and utilized
    for road construction in Germany. Today, only a few sections
    of the wall can still be seen.

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