The Impact of the Cold War upon the DDR

The impact of the Cold War upon one state, and a comparison and contrast of the impact of the Cold War upon two states from different regions, is a possible focus of exam questions.

The following unit was designed to provide an academically rigorous follow-up task to the materials we completed on our Residential Study Trip to Berlin.

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1. Impact upon one state – the DDR

In this first part of the unit, students work collaboratively to determine the impact of the Cold War upon the DDR.

Analyse the impact of the Cold War upon the DDR
Students are given 20 key terms, events, individuals and themes relating to the DDR. These are divided between the members of the class to research individually prior to a feedback session. Students then write their answers to the key question, based on their areas of study, on individual revision cards.When all 20 cards are completed, the class should work together to organise these into between three and five meaningful categories. Stick them down on a large piece of card, and link them together using arrows and topic sentences. A photograph of the completed essay framework should then be shared with all members of the class so they can effectively write an answer to the key question “What was the impact of the Cold War upon one state that you have studied?”