COLD WAR I: Berlin Crisis

Classroom Activities

Part 1: Pre-Viewing

Episode Description

"The Berlin Crisis" - Part 1 focuses on the political events that led up to the Soviet blockade of Berlin. It also introduces the British, French, and American response: the Berlin Airlift. This episode describes the situation in a divided Germany at the close of World War II, particularly the growing tensions between Stalin and the other Allies during the second half of the 1940s. Other topics include the introduction of the Marshall Plan - which caused the final break between East and West and represented the philosophical beginning of the Cold War - and the daily lives and feelings of the citizens of Berlin as they experienced the harsh realities of life on the first Cold War "battlefield."

Part 1: Pre-Viewing Activities

FREE-WRITING PREPARATION FOR "THE BERLIN CRISIS" - PART 1
Ask students to free-write for 20 minutes about their impressions of World War II, the Cold War, and the history of U.S.-Soviet relations. What do they think are the most important aspects of these relations, and why do they think so? Ask students about their sources for information on the Soviet Union. Encourage them to note any experiences they have of non-U.S. cultures, and to think about how these experiences have affected their views of U.S. culture.

This introductory exercise, if completed before showing any part of the video, offers two interesting dimensions to study. First, it will help students to keep a record of their progressive understanding and impressions of the Cold War. This record can be used in later discussions about preconceptions, stereotypes, and the sources of our information about the world. Second, it will allow the teacher to shape this unit, as well as later Cold War units, in this series according to students' prior knowledge and primary interests.

BACKGROUND CAUSES OF THE BERLIN CRISIS
In order to provide students with a greater historical and cultural context for the events to be covered in the video program, duplicate the Timeline provided at www.opb.org/education/coldwar/berlincrisis or the handout entitled Major Events of the Berlin Crisis (also at www.opb.org/education/coldwar/berlincrisis) to use as the basis for an introductory lecture about this topic. Then show the first few minutes of the video episode that covers the events leading up to the Berlin Crisis - the division of Germany and of Berlin among the four allied powers: Russia, the United States, Britain, and France. Stop the program frequently to further discuss the various factors that contributed to the tension in Berlin at this time.

Ask the students to list and identify the political, economic, social, geographic, historical, and psychological factors involved as contributing causes to this crisis. Ask the students to select one of these disciplines to "use as a viewing filter" as they watch the rest of the program, and to continue to list other events and factors within this discipline that relate to the causes, events, and aftermath of the Berlin Crisis. Be sure to point out the political, economic, and social differences that are rooted in the twentieth-century division between socialist and democratic systems of government. Refer to the vocabulary exercise below for an extension of this activity.

MAP EXERCISE
Assign students a map exercise in which they either create or label three maps of Europe. The first should be a map of pre-World War II Europe, the second a post-World War II map reflecting political boundaries as they existed at the time of the Berlin Crisis, and the third map showing the current political boundaries of Europe. Ask students to compare the maps and conclude by developing generalizations about the effects that political divisions and the emergence of the "Iron Curtain" had on the development of the Berlin Crisis.

VERBAL AND VISUAL VOCABULARY EXERCISE
Ask students to develop basic definitions (using dictionaries or encyclopedias) for the terms listed in the Glossary at www.opb.org/education/coldwar/berlincrisis, and then post each vocabulary word with its brief definition on large "flashcards" prominently in front of the classroom. Then ask the students to quickly draw cartoons to illustrate as simply as possible each of the vocabulary words. Post these "cartoon flashcards" nearby. Use both the verbal and visual "flashcard" definitions as a starting point for a discussion about the general economic and political themes and major events of the post-World War II world. Conclude by asking the students to work in groups to develop large political cartoons to show one of the reasons they think the U.S. and Western European countries were concerned about political and economic developments in Eastern Europe, or one of the reasons they think the Soviets were concerned about a re-emerging strong Germany. Compare these political cartoons to make clear the underlying basis for the Berlin Crisis and the escalation of the Cold War.

Part 1: Post-Viewing

TIMELINE
Ask small groups of students to work together to make cause and effect diagrams of the events, misunderstandings, and decisions leading up to the Soviet decision to blockade the city of Berlin. Assign each group a different perspective: Truman and the American point of view, Churchill and the British point of view, Stalin and the Soviet point of view, and the viewpoints of citizens of Berlin. Events on the timelines may be provided by the teacher and might include: the division of Berlin and Germany, the attitudes and behavior of various groups in Europe from 1945 on (especially Russian-German relations), the proposal and implementation of the Marshall Plan and accompanying currency changes, and the development of the Soviet Bloc, which established other communist governments in Eastern Europe aligned with the Soviet Union. Ask each group to make a presentation to the class to explain the event from each perspective. Compare and contrast these multiple viewpoints.

TAKE A STAND
List the events from the Timeline (see above) from left to right (earlier to later date) on the chalkboard in front of the classroom. Review the events factually and briefly, if necessary, and then ask the students to stand along the timeline by the event or decision they believe was the most crucial in causing the Berlin Crisis. As the students "take a stand" and group themselves near each of the events on the timeline, ask them to work together to develop a 5-minute oral presentation explaining the reasons why they selected their event as most crucial. Encourage the other students to further question each group about their event and reasoning. This activity will help students develop an understanding of the cause and effect relationships involved in historical developments, and of the variety of interpretations possible in looking at historical events.

YALTA CONFERENCE
Many experts believe that the seeds of the Berlin Crisis and the Cold War were sown in 1945 at the Yalta Conference when the Big Three (Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill) evaded the issue of how to govern occupied Germany for fear of damaging their alliance.

Organize the class into five groups representing the United States, Great Britain, France, the USSR, and Germany. Ask each group to research and prepare a "Yalta Proposal" representing their nation's goals, hopes, and fears about how to most effectively occupy and govern Germany after the war ends. Consider the following major questions in your proposal:

1. How should war-torn Europe be rebuilt? Who should assist and pay for this?
2. How should de-militarization and de-nazification be accomplished in Germany and the countries it invaded? Who should control the process of stabilization? To what extent should "sovereignty" and the principles of "self-government" be restored in a country that caused an entire world war?
3. How should Germany be treated after the war: should it be restored to full strength as the "engine of Europe," crippled and weakened to prevent it from rising again, or permanently destroyed and taken over by the victors? Explain your reasoning.
4. How can the mistakes made in the Treaty of Versailles after World War I be avoided now in the treaty process after World War II?

EMOTIONS AND PROPAGANDA
One of the most interesting statements in the video is the claim that the Berlin Crisis began in 1945 with the end of World War II - even though the blockade itself did not occur until several years later. Ask the students to research the role of the United States in the Berlin Crisis and discuss whether they believe that the U.S., as a non-European country, should have been involved in the first place. What effect do they think that emotions, public opinion, and propaganda had in causing the Berlin Crisis? To bring this discussion up to the present day, ask students to discuss the effect of emotions, public opinion, and propaganda on one of today's current events.

Part 2: Pre-Viewing

Episode Description:

"The Berlin Crisis" - Part 2 begins approximately 23 minutes after the start of the video with a focus on the Berlin Airlift itself. This episode describes the mechanics of the Airlift and introduces viewers to individual participants, offering firsthand accounts from a variety of points of view. It also covers the political backdrop, the rising tensions, the activity of spies, and the growing threat of renewed war. Finally, the segment addresses the U.S. introduction of B-29 bombers - atomic bombers stationed in Britain and sent to patrol German airspace. Though the B-29 bombers finally brought about an end to the blockade, they also marked the entrenchment of Cold War hostilities that would last until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Part 2: Pre-Viewing Activities

TIMELINE CONTINUATION
The timeline/cause and effect diagram exercise for "The Berlin Crisis" - Part 1 can be extended or repeated for the events and decisions leading up to the end of the blockade.

TALK SHOW
In the second part of the video program, three different points of view are expressed about the Berlin Crisis:

1. Berliners experienced the Crisis as a threat to the qualities that make people human, and they hoped the end of the war would bring an end to Soviet revenge hostilities.
2. Britain and the United States perceived their occupation of Germany and parts of Berlin as a right and a moral imperative.
3. The Soviet Union saw any occupation of Berlin by those other than themselves as an insult and a threat to their national security.

Divide the class into three groups. Assign each of the groups one of these perspectives and ask them to watch the video program and focus on how they will use the information to create a fictitious person who will role-play this perspective in a Talk Show format. After viewing the video, ask each group to develop sample questions, answers, and arguments and select a student to role-play this fictitious person during "show-time." Ask the students to suggest ways for the role-player to develop a "complete personality" with emotions, data, anecdotes, and personal examples to use during the role-playing. Either the teacher or another student can serve as the talk show host to question these three guests about the Berlin Crisis. Try to develop opportunities for the three guests to compare and contrast their points of view. Invite the audience members (other students) to interact with the talk show guests. Think Oprah!

CABINET MEMBER SIMULATION
Assign students to take the parts of Cabinet Members who have been asked by the President to research and develop position statements and proposals for solutions to one of the problems below. As they watch "The Berlin Crisis," they should look for information that helps them formulate answers to the problems. (Also, see other programs in the Cold War I series, including "The Bay of Pigs" and "Citizen Kurchatov.")

1. How can four different countries with two different political philosophies rule a conquered Germany?
2. How can the U.S. and Western Allies diffuse tensions and end the blockade of Berlin, and prevent the threat of nuclear war/World War III?
3. How can the tensions of the Cold War be diminished and peace promoted during other crisis points of the Cold War, including the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, etc.?

Students should make orderly presentations of their proposals, and then vote on what they consider the best plan of action for the U.S., considering all factors. This is a good time to introduce the criteria for judging the validity of a presentation: credibility and reliability of sources, relevance of the evidence to the subject at hand, the logical development of the arguments being made, and the point of view of the analyst - whether or not they are impartial judges of the situation, and if they are partial, what the basis of that partiality is.

Part 2: Post-Viewing

BERLIN CRISIS JOURNAL
Tell students that they will be writing journal entries for different dates during the Berlin Crisis from one of the following points of view: as an American or British airman, a young German child in Berlin, an adult woman in Berlin, an American or British citizen at home, a Russian occupation soldier, or Stalin. Use the timeline at www.opb.org/education/coldwar/berlincrisis to refresh the students' memories about the events occurring on each of the dates before viewing the video. After viewing, allow students to write entries for the following dates: May 7, 1945, July 26, 1945, June 24, 1948, Dec. 20, 1948, and May 12, 1949. Have them read their entries aloud and compare how the same events were experienced in different ways by different individuals.

STATISTICS AND THE BERLIN AIRLIFT
There are many misconceptions about the Berlin Airlift that can be clarified by developing pie or bar charts to visually portray statistics. Divide the class into groups to prepare visual charts to answer the following common questions about the Berlin Airlift. Use the data provided below as well as other resources to prepare the charts.

• Chart l: What percentage of flights did each western country fly during the Berlin Crisis?
• Chart 2: In general, what percentages of food, fuel, people, or other cargo were airlifted?
• Chart 3: What percentage of flights carrying people or cargo went into and out of Berlin?
• Chart 4: What percentage of the costs of the Berlin Airlift did the U.S. and Great Britain pay?
• Chart 5: What kinds of harassment incidents by the Soviet Union occurred during the Berlin Crisis?

* One short ton = 2,000 pounds or 907.18 kilograms

• The total airlift mileage amounted to 124,420,813 miles, which is equivalent to 4,000 times around the world, or 133 round trips to the moon.

• Toward the end of the Berlin Airlift, for every 260 tons of raw material flown into Berlin daily, 100 tons of manufactured goods were flown out of Berlin.

Harassment by Soviet Union, as reported by U.S.:
(Source: Bridge Across the Sky, Richard Collier, 1978.)

103 searchlights
96 close flying
82 radio interference
77 buzzing
59 flares
55 ground fire
54 flak and chemical laying
42 air-to-ground fire
39 ground explosions
36 bombing
14 air-to-air fire
11 balloons
7 unidentified objects
4 rockets
TOTAL: 733 incidents of harassment

Airlift Costs:
• Approximately $500,000 per day (U.S.)
• $50,000-$100,000 per day (Great Britain)

GUEST SPEAKERS
Personal interaction with people who have experience or special knowledge about the Soviet Union, post-World War II Germany, or the Cold War is a wonderful way to add a personal dimension, and thereby a greater impact, to the unit of study. Presentations or talks on particular aspects of East German or Cold War life, culture, or issues are very informative. But the most effective use of a guest speaker is to allow students to interact with that person. This can be organized either through questions (which students should prepare in advance) or it can be done through an organized debate about specific events or issues - also prepared in advance. An interesting topic for this debate might be "Could the Berlin Crisis have been prevented?"

ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN HISTORY
Ask students to select a particular event in the history of the Berlin Crisis and review the historical footage as presented in the video. Then ask students to seek out information from other media sources (different newspapers, magazine articles, declassified CIA documents, autobiographies, letters, etc.). Compare and characterize the points of view from each of these media sources. Propose reasons for these differences in perspectives.

CHILDREN IN CRISIS
Examine the instances in the video which show how children were uniquely affected during the Berlin Crisis. Discuss how you think the "Candy Bomber" and "Operation Santa Claus" affected children in Berlin. What similar examples of humanitarian actions affecting children have occurred during wartime or other times of conflict?

SPIES IN THE BERLIN CRISIS
Research the significance of the role spies played during the Berlin Crisis. Would you support the argument that Donald McLean's actions were harmful to the United States and the West? Or do you believe that, in the end, McLean's actions helped avert a nuclear war?

WARS: COLD OR HOT?
What seem to be the biggest differences between "conventional wars" (sometimes called "hot wars" which are fought with armed conflict and battles) and the Cold War? How are deaths that occurred during the Berlin Airlift different from deaths that occurred during World War II?

THE SECOND BERLIN CRISIS
In the 1960s, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev described Berlin as a "bone stuck in the throat" and as "a sort of cancerous tumor requiring a surgical operation." Ask students to report on the events that led to the construction of the Berlin Wall during the second "Berlin Crisis" of 1961 and the actions and individuals that led to the fall of the "Berlin Wall" in 1989.

WORLD WAR III DEBATE
Conclude the study of the Berlin Crisis by organizing the class into two halves to present different arguments in answer to the question: How close do you believe the world came to World War III during the Berlin Crisis? Extend the discussion by considering the related questions: How close to World War III are we now? How can we prevent World War III in the future?

CREATIVE CONCLUSION
The video program referred to the Berlin Crisis of 1948-49 as both "one of mankind's finest hours" and "the first step of the Cold War." Write a poem, paint, draw, sculpt, compose a song, or express in some other creative way your feelings about the lessons you have learned from studying the Berlin Crisis. Share these products with other students in your school or with members of your community.