THE WALL ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

After viewing The Wall and engaging in the corresponding discussion questions and activities, students will be able to answer the following:

1.  Why was Berlin the center of crisis in 1948-49 and again between 1958 and 1961?

2.  Why did the Soviet Union sanction the construction of the Berlin Wall?

3.  Why did the United States allow it to happen?

4.  How did the Wall affect the lives of East and West Berliners?

5.  Does the end (no more crises in Berlin) justify the means (the Wall)?

6.  How does The Wall shed light on the themes of the Cold War?

Segment One

Before 1961, thousands of Berliners move relatively freely between the Soviet Sector and the British, French and U.S. Sectors of Berlin. Khrushchev proposes to create a free city of Berlin under the jurisdiction of East Germany. Formally, Khrushchev's proposal means that East Berlin would become the capital of the GDR and the Soviets would lose their jurisdiction over the city, but so would the three other powers with occupying rights. Khrushchev's proposal includes a deadline for the Soviet Union to sign a separate treaty with East Germany if the Western powers refuse to sign a quadripartite peace treaty.

·  Why was West German re-armament seen as a threat by many in East Germany and Eastern Europe?

·  According to Werner Eberlein, why was West Berlin becoming dangerous to the existence of the GDR?

·  What did Khrushchev propose for the city of Berlin? (Eberlein: "...to create a free city of Berlin, with special rights of its own, with its own police and its own symbolic foreign forces") Why do you think Khrushchev made this proposal? Why do you think the Western allies rejected this proposal?

·  What was Khrushchev's ultimatum to the West? (Khrushchev offered East German leader Walter Ulbricht a separate peace treaty. Unless agreements were reached, Berlin would be turned over to the East Germans within six months) How would this ultimatum threaten Western rights in Berlin? How did Khrushchev's initial proposal and his ultimatum create a crisis in Berlin? (see archive newsreel)

·  According to Martha Mautner, why were negotiations on the issue of Berlin difficult for the Soviet Union and the United States?

Segment Two

Soviet support keeps East Germany's economy going. But every month thousands of East Germans flee to the West. As the country's population drains away, Walter Ulbricht urges Khrushchev to recognize East Germany as a sovereign state, with control over its own borders.

·  How did official films of East German life compare with eyewitness accounts of the reality of life in East Germany?

·  Based on the archive footage and eyewitness accounts, why did so many East Germans leave for the West? How did this migration affect the East German economy?

·  Which leader, Khrushchev or Ulbricht, appears to be spearheading the effort to sign a peace treaty between the Soviet Union and the GDR? What conclusions can you draw regarding the power that smaller nations had in manipulating superpower Cold War conflict?

Segment Three

In 1961 in Vienna, Kennedy meets with Khrushchev but no progress is made. Khrushchev stresses the importance of a peace treaty with Germany and renews his threat to sign a separate peace treaty with East Germany if the West will not comply. In a speech on July 25, Kennedy promises to defend the freedom of West Germans and West Berliners, but does not mention movement across the borders. By July, Ulbricht is desperate to stop the population drain. Khrushchev gives his approval to close the border with West Germany and West Berlin.

·  What were the attitudes of Kennedy and Khrushchev going into the Vienna Conference in 1961? How did these attitudes appear to affect the conference objectives?

·  What were the goals of each superpower with regard to Berlin? How was Kennedy's July 25 speech interpreted by the Soviets? Why was this significant?

·  Who appears to be initiating the activities in East Berlin? The Soviet Union or East Germany, or both?

·  Based on the eyewitness accounts, why do you think Khrushchev made the decision to close the border between East and West Berlin rather than sign a separate peace treaty with East Germany?

Segment Four

On the morning of Sunday, August 13, Berliners wake to find their city divided by barbed wire. West Berliners demonstrate their anger over the division of their city. They resent the West for allowing the barriers to remain. But Western rights have not been challenged. Many in the United States see the Wall as neutralizing the crisis. West Berlin's confidence in Allied support crumbles. To show U.S. support, Kennedy orders an American military convoy to West Berlin.

·  How does Anatoly Dobrynin's account shed light on Khrushchev's motives for closing the border?

·  How did the closing of the border affect the lives of Germans on both sides of the divide?

·  How do you account for the Western allies' reluctance to take action against the closing of the border? What dilemma did they face?

·  What was the discrepancy between West German goals in Berlin and U.S. goals for West Berlin? Why did this create tension between the two allies?

Segment Five

In the East, people risk death to flee through the barbed wire divide. People swim lakes and canals, cling beneath trains, hide in cars, climb barriers under fire. East Germans justify the Wall as a "bulwark of peace."

·  What methods did the East Germans use to get to West Berlin? Why do you think so many were willing to risk death? What assumption can you make from the archive footage and the eyewitness accounts regarding the impact the Wall had on the Germans?

·  Werner Eberlein states, "Ulbricht drew a veil of silence over the economic problems, they talked always of the anti-fascist barrier, that's how it was officially described, the protective bulwark." Stefan Heym says, "I thought, what kind of a system is it that can only exist by keeping them with force in their own bailiwick? And the Wall was the actual symbol of a defeat, or inferiority." In light of these East German perspectives, assess the purpose of the Wall and the reason for its existence for almost 30 years.

Segment Six

Telephone lines are cut, severing contact between the two parts of the city. General Lucius Clay, Western hero of the Berlin Blockade, orders armed American soldiers to escort vehicles back and forth across the border at Checkpoint Charlie. The Russians counter by bringing up their tanks and guns. The two sides face each other at gunpoint. Forces around the world go on alert. Conversations between Kennedy and Khrushchev lead to both sides backing down.

·  What additional steps were taken to ensure East Berliners could not escape to the West?

·  Whom did General Clay blame for the Wall? Who do students think was responsible?

·  According to the video, why did the United States feel it had to "test" the East Germans and Soviets on the Wall? Why did tanks ultimately face each other at Checkpoint Charlie? What was motivating each side?

·  How was the Berlin crisis "solved?" Why did this conflict stay "cold" without heating up?

·  Weigh the pros and cons of the Berlin Wall from the perspectives of the Soviets, the United States, East Germany, West Germany and the Berliners. How do you evaluate the Wall as a solution to the crisis?