Questions on: The GDR and the Berlin Wall (1949–1990)

The Berlin Wall split the city in two for almost three decades and became a symbol of the division of Europe during the Cold War.

Jewish communities in Germany maintain their religious traditions. Their holidays follow the Jewish calendar.

After the First World War, the territory of the British Mandate for Palestine was a land with a Jewish and an Arab population. After the Second World War, its future was negotiated internationally.

The term became known through a speech by the British politician Winston Churchill. The border ran across Europe and separated states with different political systems.

The uprising in the German Democratic Republic (GDR; in German: DDR) against the state leadership was crushed by Soviet tanks. Many people were arrested and sentenced.

After the Second World War, two German states emerged. Both chose black, red and gold, the colours of the democratic movement of 1848. From 1959, one of the two states also placed its state coat of arms in the middle of the flag, in order to be visibly distinct from the other.

The Berlin Wall was a border system of concrete, watchtowers and barriers that separated West and East Berlin. It stretched for many kilometres through the city.

The border installations of the Wall included a death strip and watchtowers; anyone who wanted to flee risked their life. Many people were injured or killed in escape attempts.

The state in the east of Germany belonged to the socialist camp in Europe and had its capital in the eastern part of Berlin.

After the Second World War, Berlin was divided into four sectors. The eastern part belonged to the German Democratic Republic (GDR; in German: DDR), while the western sectors were closely tied to the Federal Republic. More and more people fled the GDR via West Berlin. For this reason, the GDR leadership had a border installation built across the city in August 1961. It was not opened until November 1989.

The Stasi still plays a major role today in coming to terms with the history of the German Democratic Republic (GDR; in German: DDR), and its files are accessible to those affected.

In the Cold War, the states of Europe formed two opposing camps, each led by a superpower, which faced each other militarily.

The economy was closely tied to the policy of the single ruling party. The country belonged to the socialist bloc of states in Europe.

In the 20th century, military alliances served mutual defence and bound their members to one another by treaty. Their members committed themselves to help one another if one of them was attacked.

The building of the Stasi in Berlin's Normannenstraße is now a museum and commemorates the work of the agency.

In the 1950s, the German Democratic Republic (GDR; in German: DDR) gave itself its own state coat of arms. It was meant to show whom the state, by its own understanding, relied on: the workers, the farmers and the intelligentsia. It disappeared with reunification in 1990; today it is seen mainly in museums and on old documents.

In the early years of the German Democratic Republic (GDR; in German: DDR), supply shortages and high work quotas noticeably burdened the everyday lives of many people. The economy of the GDR was under strong political pressure.

A state's official name is found in its constitution and on official documents, for example in the passport. It often describes how the state is structured: whether a king or an elected head of state is at the top, and whether several states together form one country.

The federal flag is enshrined in the Basic Law (Grundgesetz) and is displayed by federal authorities on official occasions. It is regarded as a national symbol of Germany.

In the plenary chamber of the Federal Parliament (Bundestag), in the Reichstag building in Berlin, a large state emblem of the Federal Republic hangs behind the speaker's lectern. Because of its rounded shape, many people jokingly call it the “fat hen”. It is meant to show that the parliament of the whole state meets here.

The German Democratic Republic (GDR; in German: DDR) was a socialist state. It was led by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), and its power reached deep into people's everyday lives.