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Teaching and Learning Material

Crossword puzzle about the Foundation

Index

Our diverse teaching and learning materials can be downloaded or ordered free of charge in German. It  can be used individually or in groups, both on site and in class or at home.

For the Classroom

Wall photos - Historical photos for free use

The collection of the Berlin Wall Foundation provides 1,000 historical photographs available online for free use. The pictures are unpublished images from three decades of the construction of the Wall to the fall of the Wall and were mainly provided by private donors.

They can be freely researched on the specially created website www.mauer-fotos.de and where you can also find much additional information. The image data can be freely downloaded and used. The website is part of the initiative to provide free access to knowledge on the internet. The website is particularly suitable for schools and universities and also contains teaching and learning materials, overview explanations and small thematic exhibitions.

Teacher's Guide

This joint publication from the Berlin Wall Foundation, the Berlin Commissioner for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship, and the Berlin-Brandenburg State Agency for Schools and Media is specially tailored to the needs of the classroom. The teacher’s guide offers compact introductory texts, annotated sources and in-depth methodological texts as well as an extensive annotated compilation of didactic material and websites.

Sarah Bornhorst / Elena Demke (Hrsg.), Die Berliner Mauer. Quellen, Fragen, Kontexte (Werkstatt DDR-Geschichte für die Schule 4), 2. unveränd. Aufl. Berlin 2014

 

Worksheet for a Visit

We provide special worksheets for a visit to the outdoor grounds of the Berlin Wall Memorial

  • Outdoor grounds: for middle and high school
  • Permanent exhibition: for age groups 7–9, 10–12 and 13–16  

 

Inclusive material case

With our inclusive material case, we offer extensive materials, both analogue and digital, especially for schools with a special focus on mental development.

  •     for lending with historical objects and much more
  •     for download as a digital collection of materials

Course material for the AR-App "Cold War Berlin"

We provide various working materials for the use of the AR app "Cold War Berlin" in class. They are particularly suitable for the subject of history in grades 9 and 10. In four modules, pupils can work through the history of the tank confrontation step by step independently, alone or in small groups, and discuss their findings together in class.

Teaching unit: Special flight

In our teaching unit "Special Flight - Start into a New Life" we provide materials for teachers that deal with the topics of flight in a divided Germany and German division. At the same time, they offer connecting points and opportunities for comparison with stories of flight today, current refugee policy and the reality of life for refugees in Germany.

Teaching material for integration and orientation courses

Life in Germany

The Berlin Wall Memorial, the Berlin State Agency for Civic Education and VHS Berlin Mitte and Neukölln have jointly developed teaching material for excursions to the Berlin Wall Memorial. The material is aimed at integration and orientation courses and helps new immigrants prepare for the orientation course test “Living in Germany.” It includes a guide for course instructors with detailed information on preparing and conducting the excursions. The course participants receive a separate workbook containing assignment sheets for the excursion, background information, and examination questions and solutions from the “Living in Germany” test.

Learn German and discover history

We developed our program “Learn German and Discover History” for orientation courses. It takes about 3 ½ hours to complete and includes a dialogue-based tour of the permanent exhibition combined with tasks for independent exploration and a research and presentation assignment. All the information is found in our teacher’s guide.

Handreichung [pdf, 32.5 MB]
Objektkarte [pdf, 397.3 KB]
Umschlag [pdf, 2.46 MB]
Handreichung [pdf, 32.5 MB]
Objektkarte [pdf, 397.3 KB]
Umschlag [pdf, 2.46 MB]

For the Visit

With our materials at the Berlin Wall Memorial and the Marienfelde Refugee Center Museum, children and families can explore the exhibitions individually and playfully.

Audioguide

Where did the Wall actually stand? Why was it built? What happened underground? How did people flee from East to West? Stories about the Berlin Wall are told in an exciting and child-friendly way in the audio guide especially designed for children age 8 and older.

The flyer as a PDF [pdf, 1.56 MB]
The flyer as a PDF [pdf, 1.56 MB]

Wall Doodle Pad

Children between the ages of 6 and 11 research and draw while visiting the permanent exhibition “1961|1989. The Berlin Wall.” The Wall Doodle Pad encourages kids to explore objects, historical photographs and personal stories at 13 stations. At home, the children can use the Wall Doodle Pad to tell their friends and family about their visit to the memorial. The Wall Doodle Pad can be used by an individual child or in groups. It takes about 60 minutes to complete.

Family tour

Discover history(s) together! Grandparents, parents, children - with the family tour at the Marienfelde Refugee Center Museum we invite families to discover the permanent exhibition and tell each other what they see, hear and think.

Book Recommendations

To help you learn more about the Berlin Wall and the inner German border, we have compiled a list of titles with commentary for middle schoolers, high schoolers and students.

Literatur für die Mittelstufe [pdf, 463.23 KB]
Literatur für die Oberstufe [pdf, 625.59 KB]
Literatur für Studierende [pdf, 304.46 KB]
Literatur für die Mittelstufe [pdf, 463.23 KB]
Literatur für die Oberstufe [pdf, 625.59 KB]
Literatur für Studierende [pdf, 304.46 KB]
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