1)
If I built a wall where Hw. 290 is, how
would it affect your life?
-
You cannot cross this wall or you will
be shot or imprisoned.
-
This wall continues to the borders of
the United States, and surrounds
Houston, so you cannot just go
around.
-
Think about where you live and where
your friends live.
-
Think about what would be on the
other side of the wall. (would you be
able to go to this school?)
-
Which side would be better to live on?
The Berlin Wall and the fall of
the Soviet Union
Cy-Woods HS
World Geography
’13-’14
Where are we talking about?
Berlin, Germany
Why was there a wall there?
Let’s go back to the end of World
War II (1945).
The aftermath of World War II
• What was left of Nazi
Germany was divided into
4 areas.
• Britain, France, US, and
Soviet Union
• Berlin (the capital) was
also split into 4, even
though it was mostly
inside the Soviet zone.
The aftermath of World War II
• Two big powers arose
(United States and
the Soviet Union).
• Eastern Europe
became dominated by
the USSR.
• An “iron curtain” was
formed.
“Iron Curtain”
• “From Stettin in the Baltic
to Trieste in the Adriatic,
an iron curtain has
descended across the
Continent.” -Churchill
• http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=S2PUIQpAEAQ
• NOT a physical wall.
• The “iron curtain” was an
ideological divide
between Western
democracy and Soviet
communism.
The onset of the Cold War
• In 1949, as the Cold War
between the US and the
Soviet Union was heating
up, Germany split.
• Federal Republic of
Germany (France, Britain,
US) including West Berlin
• German Democratic
Republic (Soviet Union)
including East Berlin
West Germany (FRG)
West Germany
Market economy;
capitalist
Democratic
parliamentary
government
High standard of
living
East Germany (GDR)
East Germany
Command economy;
communist
Authoritarian
government
Low standard of
living
Which side built the wall and why?
• The Soviets decided to
build the wall in 1961.
• They wanted to prevent
people from leaving East
Germany.
• Why would people want
to go from East Germany
to West Germany?
What were the effects of the Berlin
Wall?
• Families were
separated.
• People could not get to
their jobs.
• While East Germany
grew economically, it
was viewed as
oppressive by the world.
Why didn’t they just go around
the wall?
Did anyone try to escape?
• There were 5,000+
escapes.
• 136 confirmed
dead.
"Do not hesitate to use your firearm, not even
when the border is breached in the company of
women and children, which is a tactic the traitors
have often used"
• Most escapes
were early in the
wall’s existence.
Fall of the Berlin Wall
• People were going through
Czechoslovakia and mass
protests in East Germany were
beginning.
• November 9th, 1989
• People were allowed travel
between the two.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtYdjbpBk6A
celebration
The Aftermath
• Germany had begun
reunification.
• This marked the fall of
communism.
See Berlin Wall clip
The Aftermath
• Problems arose with
reunification:
• East was communist
(inefficient).
• West was capitalist.
• Closing factories in
the East would cost
thousands of jobs.
Eventually, the Soviet Union would
collapse altogether.
The Aftermath
•
West Germany
•
East Germany
•
They would have to pay for
reunification ($40,000/person).
•
Factories would have to close,
leaving thousands jobless.
•
There would be a mass migration
of East Germans into the West
looking for jobs.
•
Women had to give up free child
care to go to work.
•
The government no longer
guaranteed jobs.
•
The government no longer offered
free housing.
•
East German money was
worthless.
•
•
East Germans would work for less
than West Germans.
They would not have enough
natural resources and would have
to import them.
Why reunite then?
• The German “people”
would be linked together
in a single country.
• Families separated since
1945 would be reunited.
• Potential for the future.
Your assignment
• On a piece of notebook paper, write a letter to a
friend on the other side of the wall.
•
 East
(middle row, pick one)
West 
• Tell them:
– What life is like on your side of the wall.
– What you have heard about life on their side of the
wall.