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Year 11
Edexcel

Berlin, 1961-63: the Berlin Wall

I can explain the impact of the Berlin Wall on the city and people of Berlin and on US-Soviet relations.

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New
New
Year 11
Edexcel

Berlin, 1961-63: the Berlin Wall

I can explain the impact of the Berlin Wall on the city and people of Berlin and on US-Soviet relations.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Escalating tensions after the Vienna Summit (June 1961) led to an increase in people attempting to leave East Germany.
  2. In August 1961, to stop people leaving East Berlin, East Germany began to build what would become the Berlin Wall.
  3. The Berlin Wall made it extremely difficult and dangerous to move between East Berlin and West Berlin.
  4. The Berlin Wall confirmed the division of Berlin and Germany between East and West until it fell in 1989.
  5. The Berlin Wall reduced the chance that the superpowers would go to war over Berlin and temporarily reduced tensions.

Common misconception

Some people underestimate the length of the Berlin Wall and believe that it only divided the city of Berlin.

The Berlin Wall divided the city of Berlin but it also encircled the city. The iconic stretch of wall that divided Berlin was approximately 26 miles in length. The total length of the Berlin Wall was approximately 96 miles.

Keywords

  • 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 seeks safety in another country

  • Border guard - someone who makes sure that rules are followed when people and 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

Use personal stories to illustrate the impact of the Berlin Wall on ordinary Germans. A popular German museum about the wall has a range of resources that are freely accessible online, including stories of escape similar to those shared in the Additional Material for this lesson.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
  • Depiction or discussion of serious crime
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Complete the sentence: By 1958, over three million people had left Germany via Berlin to live in West Germany.
Correct Answer: East, east
Q2.
Which keyword describes someone who has been forced to leave their home country because of war, persecution, natural disaster, or violence, and seeks safety in another country?
Correct Answer: refugee, Refugee
Q3.
Put the following events in chronological order.
1 - Geneva Summit
2 - Camp David Summit
3 - Paris Summit
4 - Vienna Summit
Q4.
Complete the sentence with the same keyword: By the late 1950s, West Germany was a country with a high standard of living in comparison to East Germany which was far less .
Correct Answer: prosperous, Prosperous
Q5.
Which statement correctly describes Khrushchev's demand in the Berlin Ultimatum (1958)?
Khrushchev demanded that the Western powers leave West Berlin completely
Correct answer: Khrushchev demanded that the Western powers remove their troops from West Berlin
Khrushchev demanded that the Western powers recognise East Germany
Q6.
Match the country to its later name.
Correct Answer:The German Federal Republic,West Germany

West Germany

Correct Answer:The German Democratic Republic,East Germany

East Germany

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Complete the sentence: Escalating tensions after the led to an increase in people attempting to leave East Germany.
Geneva Summit
Camp David Summit
Paris Summit
Correct answer: Vienna Summit
Q2.
Which keyword describes someone who makes sure that rules are followed when people and goods cross from one country to another or someone who protects the borders of a country?
Correct Answer: border guard, Border guard, Border Guard
Q3.
Complete the quote using a keyword: Khrushchev claimed that the Berlin Wall was “guarding the gates of paradise”.
Correct Answer: socialist, Socialist
Q4.
How much did Kennedy increase US military spending by following the Vienna Summit?
$1.5 billion
$2.5 billion
Correct answer: $3.5 billion
Q5.
What do Conrad Schumann, Waltraud and Erika Kopp and Hans-Peter Dünnhaupt all have in common?
They all attempted to escape East Berlin before the Berlin Wall was built
Correct answer: They all attempted to escape East Berlin as the Berlin Wall was being built
They all attempted to escape East Berlin once the Berlin Wall had been built
Q6.
Which of the following were consequences of the Berlin Wall?
Correct answer: Khrushchev was forced to accept that West Berlin was under Western control
East Germans were still able to move freely between East and West Berlin
Correct answer: West Berlin became a symbol of freedom and defiance against communism
Meant that the superpowers were more likely to go to war over Berlin
Correct answer: Meant that the superpowers were less likely to go to war over Berlin

Additional material

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