After the Wall
Teaching Resources
For ease of use, the following list has been divided into English and German, with the emphasis being on English-language resources. Please also see the worksheets page for further teaching materials, and the links page for a wide variety of thematic links on the GDR.
Teaching Resources in English
Taking Stock of Unification:
http://www.ce-review.org/01/5/seliger5.html
An article from the Central Europe Review looking at German unification ten years on, including economic and institutional change, privatisation and unemployment.
http://www.foothill.fhda.edu/divisions/unification/
A German Unification Case Study classroom activity.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,634122,00.html
This Spiegel article is part of the ’20 years After the Wall’ series, and examines the phenomenon of nostalgia for the GDR, accompanied by a photo gallery of the GDR remembered.
Films:
http://www.filmeducation.org/pdf/film/GoodbyeL.pdf
Good Bye Lenin! study guide for teachers and pupils.
http://www.filmeducation.org/livesofothers/
Das Leben der Anderen / The Lives of Others study guide for teachers and pupils.
GDR history:
http://www.german.leeds.ac.uk/img/campus/Better%20GermanyGDR.ppt
Powerpoint presentation on the GDR from Leeds University.
http://www.ghi-dc.org/files/publications/bulletin/bu046/009.pdf
‘Footnote or Footprint? The German Democratic Republic in History’, 20 years on, by Professor Donna Harsch, Carnegie Mellon University.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NF0RMFyDZGyieo83etp8ss0KLSvxFJJaueEZ_Fpo1LI/edit
Scheme of work for year 9 pupils on the theme of 'Communism', with a focus on the GDR. Created and kindly made available by Redland Green School History Department, Bristol.
Source material:
A comprehensive site on pre- and post-Wende East Berlin, with numerous photos, articles and personal accounts.
http://www.zum.de/psm/n45/index.php3
PSM-Data bank of official GDR documents – some English translations, some only in German.
http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/gdrmain.htm
GDR contents page of the German Propaganda Archive, a collection of translations of propaganda material from the Nazi and East German eras.
http://store.aqa.org.uk/qual/gce/pdf/AQA-2040-W-TRB-U03RL-HIS3L.PDF
AQA GCE History Resources List – From Defeat To Unity: Germany, 1945-1991
Images:
http://www.ddr-bilder.de/Einleitu-e.htm
A collection of photos of the GDR by West Berlin journalist Hans-Joachim Helwig-Wilson.
http://einestages.spiegel.de/static/authoralbumbackground/3739/atelier_fuer_alle.html
Pictures of Berlin Wall artwork from Der Spiegel
The built environment:
http://www.open2.net/thinkingallowed/ghostsofberlin.html
BBC Radio 4 Interview with Brian Ladd on Berlin, ‘the haunted city’.
Teaching resources in German
http://www.ddr-im-unterricht.de/
Information and teaching resources on life in the GDR.
http://www.zeitzeugenportal8990.de/index.php?id=unterrichtsmaterialien
Teaching resources and information on specific events/aspects of the GDR.
http://www.kakadu.de/inhalt/2932/audio
Deutschland radio clip discussing Georg Katzer’s composition ‘Mein 1989’ - aimed at children.
Original GDR television footage 1989-90.