Berlin Wall

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/berlin-wall

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How long is Berlin Wall?Approximately 96 miles (155 km), encircling West Berlin
2. What is the construction start date?August 13, 1961
3. What is the fall date?November 9, 1989
4. What was the Berlin Wall and why did it exist?The Berlin Wall was a big wall that split the city of Berlin into East and West. It was built in 1961 so that people from East Germany could not leave for the West.
5. How did the Berlin Wall affect families and communities?The wall cut families and friends apart, making it hard for them to see each other. It also stopped people from moving freely between the two sides.

German Democratic Republic (GDR): The official name for East Germany, a communist state from 1949 to 1990.
Iron Curtain: A metaphorical and physical boundary dividing Europe into Western and Eastern blocs during the Cold War.
Glasnost and Perestroika: Soviet policies of 'openness' and 'restructuring' introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev, which influenced Eastern Bloc reforms.
German Reunification: The formal process by which East and West Germany were united into a single sovereign state on October 3, 1990.