Hello, my name's Mr. Williams and I'm going to be your history teacher today.

This lesson is part of a unit of lessons about Cold War crises that took place between 1958 and 1970.

I'm really looking forward to teaching you today, so let's get started.

By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to explain the impact of the Berlin Wall on the city and people of Berlin and on US Soviet relations.

There are five keywords that are essential to understanding today's lesson.

They are summit, a meeting between leaders to discuss significant issues or make important decisions.

Refugee, someone who has been forced to leave their home country because of war, persecution, natural disaster or violence, and seek safety in another country.

Border guard, someone who makes sure that rules are followed when people in goods cross from one country to another, someone who protects the borders of a country.

Socialist, relating to a system of government where all property is owned by the community and resources are shared equally.

Symbol, something that is used to represent something else.

Today's lesson is split into three parts, and in this first part we're going to be learning about the events that led to the construction of the Berlin Wall in the summer of 1961.

Tension between the USA and the USSR over Berlin had been escalating since 1958 when they met in Vienna in June, 1961.

Khrushchev and the recently elected President Kennedy had not been able to reach an agreement about the future of the city, and the failure of the summit caused the relationship between the two leaders to become increasingly strained.

Shortly after the summit, Kennedy announced that he was increasing US military spending by $3.

5 billion.

Khrushchev responded by announcing an increase of 30% to the Soviet defence budget.

Let's do a check of your understanding.

True or false? The Vienna Summit led to a decrease in tensions between the USA and the USSR.

Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Okay, very well done if you said that was false, but we need to be able to justify our decisions.

So on the screen are two justifications.

A says, "The Vienna summit led to an increase in tensions because the USA and USSR could not agree about the future of Berlin", and B says "The Vienna summits led to an increase intentions because during the summit, the USSR sees control of West Berlin".

Which of these justifications is correct? Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Okay, very well done if you said it was A, the Vienna Summit led to an increase intentions because the USA and USSR could not agree about the future of Berlin.

One of the effects of the increase in tensions between the USA and the USSR was a surge, a sudden large increase in the number of refugees crossing the border from East Germany to West Germany via Berlin.

Concerned that the border may soon be closed, people in East Berlin seized their chance to leave.

On one day in August, 1961, over 40,000 people crossed the border into West Berlin.

This was the highest number ever recorded.

In response to the worsening refugee crisis, Walter Ulbricht, the leader of East Germany, urged Khrushchev to close the border.

Khrushchev agreed, starting early on the morning of the 13th of August, 1961, east German troops built a barbed wire fence around Berlin and between east and West Berlin.

This was only the beginning.

Soon the fence would be replaced by a concrete wall that would divide the city until 1989.

Let's do a quick check of your understanding.

Why did the unsuccessful Vienna Summit lead to a surge in the number of refugees attempting to leave East Germany? Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see a model response.

Okay, well done for your hard work on that question.

You were asked why did the unsuccessful Vienna Summit lead to a surge in the number of refugees attempting to leave East Germany? And your answer may have included, there was a surge in refugees leaving East Germany after the Vienna Summit because people were worried that the border with West Germany would soon be closed, and so they wanted to seize their chance to leave East Germany while they still could.

Very well done if your answer looks similar to the one that we've just gone through, you are now ready to attempt the first practise task of today's lesson.

I would like you to write one paragraph to explain why the East German authorities started to build the Berlin Wall from August, 1961.

I want you to aim to use the following words in your answer.

Vienna Summit, tension, refugees and surge.

Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see a model response.

Okay, very well done for all of your hard work on that first practise task, you were asked to write a paragraph explaining why the East German authorities started to build the Berlin Wolf from August, 1961, and your answer could have included The East German authorities began to build the Berlin Wolf from August, 1961 because the failure of the Vienna Summit in June led to an increase in tension and a surge of refugees leaving East Germany to start a new life in the West.

The East German authorities wanted to stop so many refugees leaving East Germany, and so they ordered the wall to be built.

Very well done for all of your hard work and well done if your paragraph looks similar to the model one that we've just gone through, we're now ready to move on to the second part of our lesson, and in the second part of the lesson, we're going to be learning about the Berlin Wall in more detail and exploring how it stopped people from leaving East Germany.

When people realised that a war was being built to divide East and West Berlin, many people in the East panicked and made desperate last minute attempts to cross the border.

On August the 15th, 1961, Conrad Schumann, an East German border guard stationed near the Berlin-Spandau railway station, saw his chance and jumped the fence.

A week later, two sisters, well Trow and Erika Kopp attempted to escape into West Berlin using a rope they had made from bedsheets to climb out of their apartment window, which was located right on the border.

Tragically, both women fell, Erika died and Weltroud was seriously injured.

Later that month, Hans Peter Dunhelpt and his friends escaped by digging a tunnel from a bakery in East Berlin to a building in West Berlin.

There were many such attempts, some successful, some unsuccessful, and they demonstrate the extreme length that people were prepared to go in order to escape into the West.

However, once the Berlin Wall was completed, escape became much more difficult.

By the end of the summer of 1961, the construction of the Berlin Wall was finished.

The wall was a formidable barrier.

Encircling Berlin, the wall's total length was 96 miles, and the section that cut through the centre of Berlin and divided the east and the west of the city was around 26 miles in length.

In reality, the Berlin wall consisted of two walls that were 3.

6 metres high, one facing the east and the other facing the west.

Between the two sections was an area of land known as the death strip, which contained barbed wire and mine fields.

The buildings in this section had been cleared so that East German border guards had clear lines of sight to be able to shoot at people attempting to escape.

There were watch towers with searchlights at regular intervals, and the wall was patrolled by East German border guards with machine guns and dogs.

Let's take a moment to check your understanding.

True or false, the total length of the Berlin wall was 26 miles.

Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Okay, very well done if you said that was false, but as ever, we need to be able to justify our response.

So on the screen are two justifications.

A says, the total length of the Berlin Wall was 56 miles.

This included 260 metres that cut through the centre of Berlin, and B says the total length of the Berlin War was 96 miles.

This included 26 miles that cut through the centre of Berlin.

Which of these justifications is correct? Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Okay, very well done if you selected justification B, the total length of the Berlin War was 96 miles, and this included 26 miles that cut through the centre of Berlin.

The East German border guards were under orders to prevent people escaping West Berlin at all costs and had been ordered to shoot to kill.

Between 1961 and 1989, it is estimated that at least 130 people were murdered as they attempted to flee.

One of the most tragic incidents occurred on the 17th of August, 1962 when 18-year-old Peter Fechter was shot as he attempted to escape with a friend, Fechter fell back into the death strip between east and West.

Despite Fechter's desperate pleas for help, no one came to his aid and he laid dying for almost an hour until East German border guards eventually carried his body away.

Let's do a check of your understanding, between 1961 and 1989, how many people attempting to cross the Berlin Wall were murdered by East German border guards? Was it A, 13 B, 30 C, 130, or D, 1,300? Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Okay, very well done if you selected C, 130 people were murdered by East German border guards as they attempted to flee to West Berlin.

You are now ready to attempt the second practise task of today's lesson.

I would like you to describe the main features of the Berlin Wall that made it so difficult for refugees to escape from East Berlin to West Berlin.

In your paragraphs, you should consider the dimensions of the wall, the death strip, and the role of the border guards.

Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see a model response.

Okay, fantastic effort on that second practise task.

You were asked to describe the main features of the Berlin Wall that made it difficult for refugees to escape from East Berlin to West Berlin.

Your answer may have included, the Berlin wall was 96 miles long and approximately 3.

6 metres high.

It consisted of two walls.

One faced the east and the other faced the west.

The strip between the two walls was known as the death strip and it contained barbed wire and minefields.

The East German border guards patrolled the wall with dogs and submachine guns and were ordered to shoot to kill anyone attempting to cross the wall.

All these features made it incredibly difficult for refugees to escape from East Berlin to West Berlin.

Very well done if your paragraph looks similar to the one that we've just gone through, we're now ready to move on to the third and final part of today's lesson, and in this final part of the lesson, we're going to be examining the impact of the Berlin Wall on US Soviet relations.

The USSR attempted to claim the building of the Berlin Wall as a victory.

The wall had stopped the flow of refugees leaving for the West through East Berlin.

The wall also sent a clear message that communism would survive in the east and that any attempt by the west to reunite Germany as a catalyst democratic society would fail.

However, despite Soviet's attempts to claim a victory, the construction of the wall also signalled that Khrushchev had abandoned plans to force the Western powers out of Berlin and to unite the city under East German control.

Additionally, although Khrushchev claimed that the wall was guarding the gates of socialist paradise, it was clear that it had been built to stop people leaving East Germany and that given a choice, people seem to prefer life in the capitalist west over life in the communist east.

Let's check your understanding.

I want you to read Jacob's interpretation.

Jacob has said the construction of the Berlin Wall was a victory for the USSR because it stopped refugees leaving East Berlin and it meant that East Berlin, east Germany would remain communist.

What points could be used to challenge Jacob's view? Discuss your ideas with a partner and aim to identify at least two points.

Pause the video now, talk to your partner and press play when you're ready to see a model response.

Okay, welcome back.

I hope those discussions were useful.

You were asked to identify at least two points that could be used to challenge Jacob's view.

Jacob said the construction of the Berlin Wall was a victory for the USSR because it's structured refugees leaving East Berlin and meant that East Berlin and East Germany would remain communist.

If you're going to challenge this view, you might have said it was not a victory for the USSR because it showed that they had abandoned plans to try and force the Western powers to leave Berlin and to unite the city under East German control.

You could also say, building a wall to stop people leaving only showed the world that if people had a choice, they preferred to live in the capitalist west.

Very well done if in your discussion you covered those two points.

The speed with which the wall had been built had taken the USA by surprise and trapped thousands of people in the east.

However, it also showed that Khrushchev had been forced to accept that West Berlin would remain under the control of the western powers.

West Berlin became a symbol of freedom and defiance against communism, and this was exploited with great success by President Kennedy when he visited the city in June, 1963, Kennedy was greeted with great excitement and an estimated 1.

5 million people lined the streets to cheer him, to show that he stood with the people of West Berlin against the communist threat, Kennedy famously declared.

(speaking in foreign language) "I am a Berliner." The building of the Berlin Wall in August, 1961 marked the end of an important chapter in the history of the Cold War and the beginning of a new one.

The USA and the USSR had been arguing over the future of Germany and Berlin since 1945, and it had been a significant source of tension on two occasions during the Berlin blockade of 1948 and in the months following Khrushchev's Berlin ultimatum in 1958, people feared that these tensions would erupt into conflict.

For some people, the building of the wall represented a low point in US Soviet relations, but it also reduced tensions in the short term and meant that the superpowers were less likely to go to war over the future of Berlin.

Let's check your understanding.

The paragraph on the screen is incorrect, and I want you to identify and correct the mistakes.

Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see the corrected paragraph.

Okay, well done for your hard work, you were asked to identify and correct the mistakes in the paragraph and the corrected paragraph should read as follows.

West Berlin became a symbol of freedom and defiance against communism, to show his support, President Kennedy visited the city in 1963 and was greeted by large crowds.

Well done if you identified and corrected all of the mistakes.

Let's do another quick check.

The construction of the Berlin Wall temporarily reduced tensions between the USA and the USSR.

Is this true or false? Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Okay, very well done if you said that the answer is true, but as always, we need to be able to justify our response.

So on the screen are two justifications.

A says, the construction of the wall temporarily reduced tensions by confirming the division of Berlin.

And justification B says, the construction of the wall temporarily reduced tensions by uniting the city under East Germany's control.

Which of the justifications is correct? Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see the correct response.

Okay, very well done if you said that the correct justification was A, the construction of the wall temporarily reduced tensions between the USA and the USSR by confirming the division of Berlin, you are now ready for the third and final practise task of today's lesson.

I would like you to explain two consequences of the construction of the Berlin Wall.

You should identify two consequences and then write one paragraph per consequence.

To explain each one.

Pause the video now, attempt the question, and when you're ready to go through a model answer, press play.

Okay, very, very well done for all of your hard work on that final practise task, you are asked to explain two consequences of the construction of the Berlin Wall, and for your first paragraph, you could have written something like this.

"One consequence of the construction of the Berlin Wall was that it made it difficult for refugees to escape from East Germany into West Germany via Berlin.

The Berlin wall was 96 miles long, 3.

6 metres high and protected by border guards who were under orders to shoot anyone attempting to leave East Berlin.

Between 1961 and 1989, at least 130 people were murdered by East German border guards, subsequently, it dramatically reduced the flow of refugees leaving East Germany.

Very well done if your paragraph reads something like the one on the screen.

For your second paragraph, you could have written something like this.

Another consequence of the construction of the Berlin Wall was that it confirmed the division of Berlin into west and east.

By building the wall, Khrushchev accepted that the USSR would not be able to force the USA and the other Western powers to abandon West Berlin, but it also meant that the Western powers had to accept that it would not be possible in the short term to reunite Germany as a capitalist democratic society.

Therefore, the Berlin Wall meant both sides had to accept the division of the city.

Very well done for all of your hard work on that final practise task and well done if your answer looks something like the one that we've just gone through, we're at the end of our lesson now, so it's a great opportunity for us to summarise our key learning points.

Kennedy and Khrushchev could not reach an agreement about the future of Berlin at the Vienna Summit in June, 1961.

An increase in tension led to a surge of refugees leaving East Germany.

To prevent refugees leaving via Berlin, the East German authorities began building the Berlin Wall in August, 1961.

The wall made it very difficult to get from East Berlin to West Berlin and East German border guards killed many people who tried.

The Berlin Wall reduced the chances of war and temporarily reduced tensions.

However, it did confirm the division of Berlin and Germany between east and West until it fell in 1989.

Well done for all of your efforts today.

It's been a pleasure to teach you and I hope to teach you again in the future.