German Reunification Newscast
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The Reunification of Germany What caused the reunification of Germany and how has the process impacted Germany today?
Transcript of German Reunification Newscast
The Reunification of Germany
What caused the reunification of Germany and how has the process impacted Germany today?
Describe what do you think is going on in this picture? Add details or change story after more of the picture is revealed.
Why do you think this is taking place?
Describe what do you think is going on in this picture? Add details or change story after more of the picture is revealed.
Why do you think this is taking place?
What caused the reunification of Germany and how has the process impacted Germany today?
The Cold War World! The “Iron Curtain” divides Europe
into two competing ideologies;
capitalism vs communism!
The Cold War divides the world!NATO and Warsaw Pact: Alliance systems of democratic West and
communist East.
QUICK RECAP!
Discuss with group members the main ideas and highlights of the “Point Alpha” homework video!
Point Alpha: Geisa, Germany
Film Clip
The Death Strip!
The Iron Curtain and the Fulda Gap!
Wolfgang Christmann: Former West German border guard
East German border guards constructing the Berlin Wall in August, 1961
East German border guard Conrad Schumann jumpingover the Berlin Wall on August 15, 1961
The Gorbachev Years (1985-1991)
Mikhail Gorbachev would become the leader of the Soviet Union in 1985. He immediately called for much needed reforms to save the floundering Soviet economy!
• Began rapid technological modernization• Tried to make Soviet Bureaucracy more efficient and responsive• Created incentives to increase worker productivity
_________________(Openness) –
Gorbachev gave freedom of
expression and information, freedom of the press, right to
criticize the government
Glasnost
Major Reforms
“Socialism with a human face”
• _________________ (Restructuring) – Reforms to democratize Soviet political system by allowing multi-candidate elections, secret ballots, and limited free market capitalism, more supply and demand, consumer goods.
Perestroika
President Ronald Reagan
“General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek
liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”
- June 12, 1987
Film Clip
Freedom of Eastern Europe: The Crumbling of the Soviet Bloc
What impact will Gorbachev’s reforms and global pressure have on the Eastern European nations?
Berlin Wall
Group Assignment
Groups will use documents and videos to create and perform a news story about an event concerning the reunification of Germany!
Group #1: Leipzig Peaceful Revolution –October 9, 1989
Over 70,000 people peacefully marched in Leipzig to protest the oppressive East German government.
Mr. Sill and Irmtraud Hollitzer in Leipzig, Germany – July 2016
“In the end everything stayed peaceful; it didn’t come to an intervention of police or military…because the chief of police saw that there were
simply too many coming, many more people than expected.”- Irmtraud Hollitzer
Group #2: Fall of the Berlin Wall – November 9, 1989
Yes, he said, the government had adopted a new regulation permitting East Germans to leave the country at border crossing points. No, he didn't know if passports would be
required. But the change, he said, would take effect "immediately. Without delay."
East German spokesman Guenter Schabowski in 1989. His stunning and erroneous statement about a new East German
travel law hastened the collapse of the Berlin Wall.
Group #3: Two-Plus-Four Treaty– October 3, 1990
Two German nations plus Four world powers agreed on a plan to reunify Germany in a peaceful and humane manner.
Helmet Kohl – West German Chancellor and
architect of German reunification
Write a thesis statement that analyzes the events that led to German reunification.
25 Years Later - October 3, 2015
Group #4: 25 Year Anniversary of Reunification – October 3, 2015
What is the status of Germany 25 years after their reunification? Do Germans feel a sense of national unity?
Group #4: 25 Year Anniversary of Reunification – October 3, 2015
Click of this image to go to 25 Years of German Unification Video!
Group #5: Angela Merkel – December 21, 2015
Angela Merkel was born on July 17, 1954, in Hamburg, Germany but her father, a Lutheran pastor, moved the family to East Germany. In 1978, she earned a doctorate in physics at the
University of Leipzig and later worked as a chemist at the Central Institute for Physical Chemistry, Academy of Sciences.
Group #5: Angela Merkel – December 21, 2015
In 2005, Angela Merkel became Germany's first female chancellor and the first former citizen of the East Germany (GDR) to lead the reunited Germany. Merkel
was sworn in for a third term in December 2013.
The “Merkel diamond” or "Triangle of Power” is the signature gesture of Angela Merkel, which
represents an steady leadership.
Group #5: Angela Merkel – December 21, 2015
“"Whoever decides to dedicate their life to politics knows that earning
money isn’t the top priority."
Group #6: Crossfire Debate - Present Day Germany
When reunification of Germany occurred in 1990, Chancellor Helmet Kohl promised, “flourishing landscapes” and his predecessor Willy Brandt stated,
“What belongs together, will grow together.” 25 years later, does Germany feel united? What are the costs and benefits of reunification?
Group #6: Crossfire Debate - Present Day Germany
Colonel Chris Hadfield's photograph of Berlin at night shows a divide between the whiter lights of former west Berlin and the yellower lights of the east.
Group #6: Crossfire Debate - Present Day Germany
Is German reunification a model for Korean Unification?
The Reunification of Germany
Write a thesis statement that analyzes the impact of German reunification 25 years later.
