Dear Reader,
I spent five days in Berlin on my recent mother-daughter trip to Central Europe. And so, I have been on a bit of a WWII/Cold War binge lately, including reading Boys in the Boat about the American rowing team at the 1936 Olympics. Highly recommended. It also comes in a Young Readers edition.
In addition to today’s column (which is an update of one I wrote three years ago) I created a Berlin Wall photo gallery that features a few of my own photos.
See ya on the Net,
Barbara J. Feldman
“Surfing the Net with Kids”
https://www.surfnetkids.com
Berlin Wall
https://www.surfnetkids.com/resources/berlin-wall/
Berlin Wall Printable(** for Premium Members only)
https://www.surfnetkids.com/printables/files/printables-club/berlin_wall.pdf
In 1945, after World War II, Germany was divided by the victors into two countries. East Germany was controlled by the communist regime of the Soviet Union. West Germany was a democracy supported by the U.S. The former capital city of Berlin, although it was entirely within East German borders, was also partitioned in two. In 1961, the East Germans erected a 103-mile barrier to separate East Berlin from West Berlin. The Berlin Wall blocked free access in both directions for twenty-eight years. In November 1989, the Wall was opened, and East German citizens could once again travel without restriction to the West.
Berlin Wall Memorial
Located in the middle of the city, the Berlin Wall Memorial “contains the last piece of Berlin Wall with the preserved grounds behind it and is thus able to convey an impression of how the border fortifications developed until the end of the 1980s.” You can visit it virtually, via video, photographs, and articles that cover everything from the construction of the wall, to its fall and eventual demolition.
Berlin Wall Online
“Checkpoint Charlie was Berlin’s best known crossing point between West and East Berlin near by the inner Berlin sector boundary between 1961 and 1989.” Berliner (and photographer) Heiko Burkhardt offers a look at the Berlin Wall in both English and German. His site includes Facts, Sites, Wall Graffiti Art, FAQ, Maps, and a Timeline.
Google Arts & Culture: East Side Gallery
“The East Side Gallery is the largest open air gallery in the world. In the period from February to September 1990, 1316 meters of the Berlin Wall in the East Berlin Mühlestraße were painted with images. More than 118 artists from 21 countries created 106 unique motives, expressing the joy of the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989 and the end of the Cold War in Europe.”
… Click to continue to Berlin Wall
Printables Club Members Also Get …
Surfnetkids Printables Club Members also get the following printables to use in the classroom, the computer lab, the school library, or to send home with students:
Berlin Wall Printable
Berlin Wall Wikipedia Printable
German Reunification Printable
Fall of Communism Printable
Cold War Printable
*** Are you curious? Get your own ten-day trial membership:
https://www.surfnetkids.com/printables-club.htm
Related Games
Berlin Wall Quiz
Cold War Quiz
Quote of the Week
“Man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?” ~~ Robert Browning ~~ (May 7, 1812–December 12, 1889) British poet, playwright. Find this quote and many more like it at: https://www.lightafire.com/quotations/optimism/.
Surfing the Calendar