Nonfiction

What Was the Berlin Wall?

What Was the Berlin Wall?

  • Downloads：3702
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-07-20 06:54:46
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Nico Medina
  • ISBN：1524789674
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

The Berlin Wall finally came down in 1989。 Now readers can find out why it was built in the first place; and what it meant for Berliners living on either side of it。 Here's the fascinating story of a city divided。

In 1961， overnight a concrete border went up， dividing the city of Berlin into two parts - East and West。 。 The story of the Berlin Wall holds up a mirror to post-WWII politics and the Cold War Era when the United States and the USSR were enemies， always on the verge of war。 The wall meant that no one from Communist East Berlin could travel to West Berlin， a free， democratic area。 Of course that didn't stop thousands from trying to breech the wall - more than one hundred of them dying in the attempt。 （One East Berliner actually ziplined to freedom！） Author Nico Medina explains the spy-vs-spy politics of the time as well as what has happened since the removal of one of the most divisive landmarks in modern history。

Download

Reviews

Ellison ，

After WWII Berlin was split up between the winners。 When people saw how Communism was going they literally skipped out！ The leaders saw they were losing smart people so an ever increasing wall was built。 People got desperate and were shot！ JFK could only come and talk， fear of WAR！Eventually a spokesman misspoke and it all collapsed。 Pix， drawings， RIP。

Leah ，

An excellent primer on Eastern Europe and Berlin during the Cold War。 I read this to my kids ages 12 and 14 as a prep book for our trip to Berlin and Prague。 They both learned something new and it was a great crash course refresher for me。

Rebecca ，

I decided after reading another book that mentioned the Berlin wall that I needed a basic intro to that piece of history。 We never learned about it in school but I didn’t really want to delve into the subject on an academic level， so I picked this book up and it was honestly a perfect little summary！

Tina ，

I thought the book was informative but the two lines referencing the hopping homosexual lifestyle in Berlin had NOTHING to do with the book。 It was NOT needed and I felt it inappropriate to add it to the book that is supposed to be about the Berlin Wall。

Chelsey Wilson ，

As an adult， I found this a bit hard to follow。 Kind of confusing， so definitely something for middle schoolers and older。

Lora Lowery ，

My 4th grader was attempting this book but got lost in the many details。 He just doesn’t have the worldly knowledge to piece it all together quite yet。 So I decided to read it since I remember the wall coming down as a child。 From an adult perspective， this was a nice quick read to freshen up in historic events。 The “What/Who Was” series is fantastic for introduction to hundreds of important people， places and events of the world。。。。 both for kids and adults。 One of our family favorite series。

Ms Ataraxia ，

Informative。 Overall this was a decent addition to the series， however， I do have one complaint！Children ages 8-12 don't NEED to be informed about the hopping homosexual scene in Berlin when learning about the Berlin Wall but they will when they read this book。 I was taken aback by the discovery of a sentence or two that clearly functioned as nothing more than a seed of unnecessary propaganda by the author in this elementary school level book。 I felt it was an inappropriate reach for grade schoo Informative。 Overall this was a decent addition to the series， however， I do have one complaint！Children ages 8-12 don't NEED to be informed about the hopping homosexual scene in Berlin when learning about the Berlin Wall but they will when they read this book。 I was taken aback by the discovery of a sentence or two that clearly functioned as nothing more than a seed of unnecessary propaganda by the author in this elementary school level book。 I felt it was an inappropriate reach for grade school kids to be notified how much fun homosexuals were having in Berlin clubs before it was popularized in the US。 。。。more

Mickey Bits ，

Excellent explainer book for younger readers （middle–high school）。 It presents a balanced， mostly non-political book about this historical event and time period。 Admittedly， the book is written from a Western perspective。Excellent informational text to help with writing essays， citing sources， and doing research。 School librarians should take note and perhaps order the entire series。

Amanda ，

This is the clearest explanation of the Cold War， the Iron Curtain， and the Berlin Wall I've ever processed。 As part of the Who HQ series， the content here is， I'd say， much more mature than most。 The intro starts off with East Berlin guards killing a man trying to escape to the west。 This is followed by more death of innocent people。 The reading is serious and more advanced， containing complex ideas and concepts （politics， Marxism， Communism， Nuclear Weapons， world leaders toeing the dangerous This is the clearest explanation of the Cold War， the Iron Curtain， and the Berlin Wall I've ever processed。 As part of the Who HQ series， the content here is， I'd say， much more mature than most。 The intro starts off with East Berlin guards killing a man trying to escape to the west。 This is followed by more death of innocent people。 The reading is serious and more advanced， containing complex ideas and concepts （politics， Marxism， Communism， Nuclear Weapons， world leaders toeing the dangerous line of potential war） and vocabulary。 I think this is a very informative read for middle school to even high school students who are studying this part of history。 Or any person curious to learn and understand world events。 It's much more thorough explanation than my daughter got while studying this in her 10th grade World History class。 I personally learned a lot from it， as this was all still playing out while I was a kid， so it wasn't taught as history yet， nor was I old enough to be aware or understanding of what was going on。Well done explaining the Berlin Wall， but again I would say this isn't for younger chapter book readers。 The ending。。 "History is made every day， and what happens next is anyone's guess。" 。。kind of gave me chills。 。。。more

North Landesman ，

Berlin Wall for kids， pretty comprehensive。

Julie ，

I swear sometimes I missed big chunks of my history class or perhaps the topics I read about now were not covered？ The What Was/Who Was series books help me get caught up on some of the things I missed。 This one was a great overview of the Berlin Wall。

Natalie ，

Since the Berlin Wall is not something I know a lot about， （besides just the basic facts of its existence） it was interesting getting a brief history。 For instance， I didn't realize that the wall wasn't built until the 60s。 I had this idea that it was built right after the war。 It was horrifying how they put the wall right through people's apartments。 That would've been so awful。 There were so many ways that people tried to escape。 I liked the one where a whole train car of people got out on old Since the Berlin Wall is not something I know a lot about， （besides just the basic facts of its existence） it was interesting getting a brief history。 For instance， I didn't realize that the wall wasn't built until the 60s。 I had this idea that it was built right after the war。 It was horrifying how they put the wall right through people's apartments。 That would've been so awful。 There were so many ways that people tried to escape。 I liked the one where a whole train car of people got out on old railroad tracks。 Another thing I learned was that Angela Merkel grew up in East Germany。Another great addition to the series。 These books are great for teaching history and learning about events。 。。。more

Heather ，

Good readThe author claims at the end of this book that Russia interfered with the American 2016 election， yet he gives no proof or sources for his claim。 For that alone， the book gets 4 stars instead of 5

Nathaniel ，

I liked it。

Yvonne ，

Very interesting book about the buildup to building the Berlin wall。 Very well detailed and included the wall， the struggle， the build up of aggression， the stand off between the US and the USSR， and the sad loss of life of those who tried to escape the wall and East Germany。 I learned a lot。

David ，

Like other books in this series， What Was the Berlin Wall by Nico Medina provides a nicely detailed overview about who built the wall and why。 I covers the politics of that time and also delivers on the background from the end of WWII and what led to the Cold War with Russia and the Eastern European countries it had under its control and the US， Britain， France and other western allies facing off against each other。 Because the parts of Germany under western control were on the path to a much fa Like other books in this series， What Was the Berlin Wall by Nico Medina provides a nicely detailed overview about who built the wall and why。 I covers the politics of that time and also delivers on the background from the end of WWII and what led to the Cold War with Russia and the Eastern European countries it had under its control and the US， Britain， France and other western allies facing off against each other。 Because the parts of Germany under western control were on the path to a much faster recovery， many people who lived under Soviet control moved to the west to find a better life。 This as well as families that had been split apart when a defeated Germany was divided among the Allied powers who wanted to reunite。 Crossing from east to west was initially quiet easy and most would cross to visit and then go back。 But because many chose to cross to the west permanently， the Soviet-backed East German government decided to restrict departures and made it more difficult to cross。 Eventually they resorted to building the Berlin Wall to stop the loss of population。 Many historical facts and lesser-known details about the Wall are included as well as its final removal。 。。。more

Idelle Kursman ，

Excellent history of the Berlin Wall。 I decided to read it because I wanted to find out what the younger generation is learning about the history of the Berlin Wall， but I learned a lot myself。 I didn't know the Berlin Wall wasn't built until 1961 （Between 1949 and 1961， almost 20 percent of East Germans fled to the West）， the British， French， and Americans helped form West Germany， and the East German government kept adding reinforcements to the Wall to make sure its citizens could not escape。T Excellent history of the Berlin Wall。 I decided to read it because I wanted to find out what the younger generation is learning about the history of the Berlin Wall， but I learned a lot myself。 I didn't know the Berlin Wall wasn't built until 1961 （Between 1949 and 1961， almost 20 percent of East Germans fled to the West）， the British， French， and Americans helped form West Germany， and the East German government kept adding reinforcements to the Wall to make sure its citizens could not escape。This book is a reminder of the dangers of communism。 In studying and reviewing history， young people should be wary of any politician promising a better life through totalitarian measures。 The photos inside the book also made the history come alive for readers。 。。。more

Karteeka ，

Loved this

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=What Was the Berlin Wall?

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=What Was the Berlin Wall?&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,What Was the Berlin Wall?&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0