The Berlin Wall

This scene is set in Berlin during the Cold War era at the sight of a checkpoint in the Berlin Wall. Students can walk across the border and see the security features, gates and soldiers that guarded the border between East and West Germany. there are several tall guard towers and border troops guarding the ‘death strip’ between the two walls.

The scene contains:

- An authentic checkpoint with barriers, signage, and paperwork
- Guard towers with armed guards and spotlights
- The death strip, marked with anti-tank defences, barbed wire and spotlights.

# Learning objectives

1: Explore the reasons for the construction and eventual destruction of the Berlin Wall{.info}

2: Understand how the wall was used to control the border between East and West Germany{.info}

# Building the Wall {.objective .objective1}

This section looks mainly at the politics behind the construction of the Berlin Wall including what life was like in both East and West Germany. The first section also covers the division in Germany after World War Two. The student activity here revolves around looking for evidence showing what life was like in East Germany

# Surveillance and Control {.objective .objective2}

Section Two mainly looks at the checkpoints guarding the wall, as well as the security guarding it. Students are tasked with thinking about how it would feel to live close to the border during the Cold War.

# Graffiti and the Fall {.objective .objective3}

The wall has been reconstructed with accurate graffiti from the time, which was mainly used as a canvas for people to express their views. This section also looks at the political reasons behind reopening the border. The activity for Section three asks students to put themselves in the place of a German on the night of the fall of the Berlin Wall thinking about how it would feel to see it reopened.