Germany A Tragic History

Setting the Scene In 1961, a policeman named Conrad Schumann stood guard at a barbed wire fence separating East Berlin from West Berlin. At that time, East Berlin was part of the communist government of East Germany and the fence was built to prevent people from escaping to West Berlin. Schumann had orders to shoot anyone who tried. Schumann thought about the colorful culture of West Berlin. He thought about political freedom and economic opportunities in the democracy of West Germany. So he jumped over the barbed wire fence separating East and West Berlin. Soon after Schumann's escape, the Berlin Wall was built to replace the fence, dividing the city in half.

Germany’s History- World War I After losing World War I in 1918, the German government had to pay billions of dollars as punishment for attacking other countries.

Germany’s History- World War I To make things even worse, the German economy collapsed. Prices soared. Germans everywhere felt desperate.

Hitler and World War II Adolf Hitler, a young German soldier, had wept bitterly in 1918 when he learned that Germany had lost the war.

Hitler and World War II He promised himself that his country would never suffer such a defeat again. Hitler became deeply involved in politics.

Hitler and World War II In speech after speech, he promised to make Germany great again. By 1933, this once unknown soldier was dictator of Germany.

Hitler and World War II Hitler blamed Germany's economic problems on the Jews. He spread hateful theories about Jews, gypsies, and other ethnic groups in Germany.

Hitler and World War II He claimed they were inferior to, or not as good as, other Germans. He claimed that true Germans were a superior ethnic group—and believed that this superior group deserved a larger country.

Hitler and World War II Many people did not believe Hitler's threats. But Hitler was deadly serious.

Hitler and World War II He ordered attacks on neighboring countries and forced them under German rule.

Hitler and World War II His actions led to the start of World War II in Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and later the United States joined other nations to stop Hitler and the Germans.

Hitler and World War II By the end of the war, Europe was in ruins.

Hitler and World War II- Video Clip

Holocaust People around the world learned that the Germans had forced countless Jews, Gypsies, Slavs, and others into death prison camps.

Holocaust Millions of people were systematically murdered in these camps. Most of those killed in the camps were Jews. This horrible mass murder of six million Jews is called the Holocaust. The deliberate murder of a racial, political, or ethnic group is called genocide.

Holocaust- Video Clip

The Division of Germany At the end of the war, the Americans, the British, the French, and the Soviets divided Germany.

The Division of Germany The American, British, and French sections were joined into a democratic country called West Germany. The Soviet Union created communist East Germany.

The Division of Germany Berlin was in the Soviet part of Germany. But the western half of it, called West Berlin, became part of democratic West Germany.

The Division of Germany This turned the western half of Berlin into an island of democracy in the middle of communism.

The Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall separated the two halves of the city. But it divided more than Berlin. It was a symbol of a divided world. Little wonder that some people called it the “Wall of Shame.”

East Germany East Germans led far different lives than West Germans. The communist government required people to obey without asking questions.

East Germany It even encouraged people to spy on family members and neighbors. Children were taught to respect only those things that helped communism.

East Germany Things from the West—including movies, music, books, and magazines—were seen as harmful to communism.

East Germany The Communists Weaken In time, communist rule started to change. One reason was that the East German economy was falling further behind the West German economy.

East Germany Conrad Schumann's mother, who was then in her late seventies, was allowed to see him. But he still was not allowed to go to East Berlin to see her. If he crossed the border, he would be arrested and put in prison.

East Germany The Berlin Wall collapsed on November 9, 1989, crowds of Germans began scrambling over the wall.

East Germany Crowds tore at the wall and took it apart block by block. Less than a year later, the governments of East and West Germany united. Germany had become a single country again.

Reunification Most Germans were thrilled about the fall of the Berlin Wall. The cultures of East and West Germany had remained similar in many ways. People in both Germanys spoke the same language and ate the same foods.

Reunification They knew the same German composers, writers, and painters. Still, the process of becoming unified again, called reunification, would not be easy.

Reunification When Germany was reunited in 1990, so was Berlin. The next year, the German legislature restored this city to its traditional role as the nation's capital.

Reunification- Video Clip