Berlin Wall History - Exam
  • 1. When was the Berlin Wall constructed?
A) 1989
B) 1961
C) 1945
D) 1975
  • 2. What was the purpose of the Berlin Wall?
A) To divide East and West Berlin culturally
B) To promote tourism in Berlin
C) To prevent East Germans from fleeing to the West
D) To symbolize peace in Europe
  • 3. When did the Berlin Wall fall?
A) 1999
B) 2005
C) 1989
D) 1975
  • 4. Which country occupied East Berlin during the Cold War?
A) Soviet Union
B) France
C) United States
D) United Kingdom
  • 5. How long did the Berlin Wall stand before its fall?
A) 15 years
B) 42 years
C) 19 years
D) 28 years
  • 6. What was the name of the initial barrier erected in 1961 when the Berlin Wall was being constructed?
A) Wooden barricade
B) Steel mesh fence
C) Barbed wire fence
D) Concrete wall
  • 7. What was the symbolic meaning of the fall of the Berlin Wall?
A) The beginning of the European Union
B) The start of a new wave of communism
C) The end of the Cold War and the reunification of East and West Germany
D) The destruction of German culture
  • 8. How many people successfully crossed the Berlin Wall during its existence?
A) Around 1,000
B) Over 10,000
C) Over 5,000
D) Less than 100
  • 9. Which US President famously declared, 'Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!'?
A) Ronald Reagan
B) John F. Kennedy
C) Richard Nixon
D) Jimmy Carter
  • 10. What was the official name used by East German authorities for the Berlin Wall?
A) "Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart."
B) "Wall of Shame."
C) "Berlin Barrier."
D) "Iron Curtain."
  • 11. What was the Soviet Union's response to Western moves to establish a federal system in post-war Germany?
A) They immediately accepted the Marshall Plan.
B) They dismantled their military presence in East Germany.
C) They joined NATO.
D) The Soviets instituted the Berlin Blockade in 1948.
  • 12. What was the economic model adopted by West Germany post-World War II?
A) A purely capitalist system without any social welfare.
B) A social market economy with a democratic parliamentary government.
C) An autocratic regime with no free markets.
D) A centrally planned socialist economic model.
  • 13. What was the term used for the migration of people from East to West Germany?
A) "Volkspolizei."
B) "Wirtschaftswunder."
C) "Ostpolitik."
D) "Republikflucht."
  • 14. Who proposed the introduction of a pass system for visits to East Berlin by West Berlin residents?
A) Konrad Adenauer
B) Joseph Stalin
C) Walter Ulbricht
D) Vyacheslav Molotov
  • 15. What did Joseph Stalin advise the East Germans to do regarding their border defenses?
A) Reduce military presence at the border
B) Open more borders for trade
C) Negotiate with West Germany
D) Build up their border defenses
  • 16. Which sector of Berlin remained open to East German citizens after the inner German border was closed?
A) The Eastern sectors
B) Both sectors were equally accessible
C) Neither sector
D) The Western sectors
  • 17. In what year did the Soviets give East Germany authority over civilian movement in Berlin?
A) 1956
B) 1955
C) 1953
D) 1954
  • 18. Who observed that the open border in Berlin prompted unfavorable comparisons between East and West Berlin?
A) Mikhail Pervukhin
B) John F. Kennedy
C) Willy Brandt
D) Nikita Khrushchev
  • 19. When was the inner German border officially closed?
A) 1961
B) 1949
C) 1952
D) 1957
  • 20. What was the percentage of East Germany's population that had emigrated by 1961?
A) 10%
B) 30%
C) Approximately 20%
D) 40%
  • 21. When did construction of the Berlin outer ring commence?
A) 1957
B) 1961
C) 1951
D) 1949
  • 22. Who wrote an urgent letter to the Central Committee about the increase in East German intelligentsia among refugees?
A) Yuri Andropov
B) Walter Ulbricht
C) Konrad Adenauer
D) Wilhelm Pieck
  • 23. What was the main reason for East German emigration according to refugees?
A) Political reasons
B) Better weather
C) Family reunification
D) Economic reasons
  • 24. By 1960, what percentage of its pre-war population did East Germany have in terms of working age?
A) 50%
B) 61%
C) 70.5%
D) 80%
  • 25. How much did Walter Ulbricht claim West Germany owed East Germany?
A) $25 billion
B) $5 billion
C) $17 billion
D) $10 billion
  • 26. Who stated on 15 June 1961 that 'No one has the intention of erecting a wall!'?
A) Walter Ulbricht
B) John F. Kennedy
C) Nikita Khrushchev
D) James Reston
  • 27. Who is suggested to have initiated the construction of the Berlin Wall?
A) James Reston
B) Nikita Khrushchev
C) John F. Kennedy
D) Walter Ulbricht
  • 28. When did Ulbricht sign the order to close the border and erect a wall?
A) 15 June 1961
B) 17 August 1961
C) 12 August 1961
D) 13 August 1961
  • 29. On what date did East German troops begin to close the border with West Berlin?
A) 15 June 1961
B) 17 August 1961
C) 12 August 1961
D) 13 August 1961
  • 30. What was John F. Kennedy's stance on the construction of a barrier during the 1961 Vienna summit?
A) He threatened military action against it.
B) He admitted that the US would not actively oppose it.
C) He remained neutral and did not comment.
D) He promised to support its construction.
  • 31. Where was the garden party held where Ulbricht signed the order for the Wall?
A) Döllnsee
B) Moscow
C) Vienna
D) Berlin
  • 32. How long was the barrier that divided West and East Berlin?
A) 43 km (27 mi)
B) 100 km (62 mi)
C) 75 km (47 mi)
D) 156 km (97 mi)
  • 33. What was the length of the border around the three western sectors?
A) 43 km (27 mi)
B) 75 km (47 mi)
C) 156 km (97 mi)
D) 100 km (62 mi)
  • 34. What was Kennedy's reaction to Willy Brandt's suggestions?
A) Kennedy agreed with all of Brandt's suggestions.
B) Kennedy ignored Brandt's comments completely.
C) Kennedy offered financial support to West Berlin.
D) Kennedy was furious.
  • 35. Which American intelligence agency intercepted advance warning information about the closure of the intra-Berlin border?
A) CIA
B) DIA
C) The National Security Agency
D) FBI
  • 36. Which airport did Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson land at upon their arrival in West Berlin?
A) Berlin Brandenburg Airport
B) Tegel Airport
C) Tempelhof Airport
D) Schönefeld Airport
  • 37. Which Allied brigade was NOT defending West Berlin after the erection of the Berlin Wall?
A) Italian Brigade
B) UK Infantry Brigade
C) French Forces
D) US Brigade
  • 38. What was the length of the Berlin Wall?
A) 200 kilometres
B) 100 kilometres
C) More than 140 kilometres
D) 50 kilometres
  • 39. When was the second, parallel fence built next to the original Berlin Wall?
A) June 1962
B) May 1975
C) January 1965
D) August 1961
  • 40. Which artist reportedly tolerated defacing the Berlin Wall despite being pursued?
A) Banksy
B) Jean-Michel Basquiat
C) Keith Haring
D) Thierry Noir
  • 41. Which municipality in Oberhavel shared a border with former West Berlin?
A) Glienicke/Nordbahn
B) Potsdam
C) Blankenfelde-Mahlow
D) Schönefeld
  • 42. How many border crossings were there between East and West Berlin?
A) Nine
B) Twelve
C) Seven
D) Five
  • 43. Which checkpoint was restricted to Allied personnel and foreigners?
A) Checkpoint Charlie
B) Checkpoint Alpha
C) Friedrichstraße station
D) Checkpoint Bravo
  • 44. Which autobahn entered East German territory between Helmstedt and Marienborn?
A) Checkpoint Alpha autobahn
B) Dreilinden autobahn
C) Friedrichstraße autobahn
D) Berlin-Helmstedt autobahn
  • 45. Which municipality in Potsdam-Mittelmark shared a border with former West Berlin?
A) Hohen Neuendorf
B) Kleinmachnow
C) Schönefeld
D) Großbeeren
  • 46. Which station became a major crossing point for Westerners with permission to cross?
A) Friedrichstraße
B) Dreilinden
C) Zimmerstraße
D) Checkpoint Charlie
  • 47. Which municipality in Teltow-Fläming shared a border with former West Berlin?
A) Hennigsdorf
B) Schönwalde-Glien
C) Blankenfelde-Mahlow
D) Dallgow-Döberitz
  • 48. Which municipality in Havelland shared a border with former West Berlin?
A) Stahnsdorf
B) Mühlenbecker Land
C) Hohen Neuendorf
D) Falkensee
  • 49. How many routes allowed railway access to West Berlin?
A) Six
B) Four
C) Two
D) Three
  • 50. Which municipality in Dahme-Spreewald shared a border with former West Berlin?
A) Stahnsdorf
B) Hohen Neuendorf
C) Großbeeren
D) Schönefeld (partially)
  • 51. Which municipality in Oberhavel partially shared a border with former West Berlin?
A) Glienicke/Nordbahn
B) Mühlenbecker Land (partially)
C) Hennigsdorf
D) Hohen Neuendorf
  • 52. Which municipality in Havelland partially shared a border with former West Berlin?
A) Mühlenbecker Land
B) Stahnsdorf
C) Schönwalde-Glien
D) Hohen Neuendorf
  • 53. What could East German authorities do with entry permits for Western visitors?
A) Issue permits automatically to all applicants.
B) Provide detailed reasons for any refusal of entry.
C) Refuse entry permits without stating a reason.
D) Only refuse permits during specific months.
  • 54. Who estimated the death toll related to the Berlin Wall's existence to be well above 200?
A) Wolfgang Engels
B) Thomas Krüger
C) Günter Litfin
D) Alexandra Hildebrandt
  • 55. Who was the first East German border guard to escape by jumping over the barbed wire?
A) Wolfgang Engels
B) Thomas Krüger
C) Günter Litfin
D) Conrad Schumann
  • 56. Who was the first casualty at the Berlin Wall?
A) Peter Fechter
B) Günter Litfin
C) Ida Siekmann
D) Chris Gueffroy
  • 57. What was Günter Litfin's occupation?
A) Policeman
B) Soldier
C) Tailor
D) Border guard
  • 58. What method did Thomas Krüger use to escape East Berlin?
A) Landing a light aircraft at RAF Gatow
B) Driving a sports car through fortifications
C) Using a hot air balloon
D) Flying an ultralight plane
  • 59. Who was the last person shot and killed while trying to cross the border?
A) Peter Fechter
B) Günter Litfin
C) Winfried Freudenberg
D) Chris Gueffroy
  • 60. Who was the final person to die in an escape attempt?
A) Peter Fechter
B) Günter Litfin
C) Winfried Freudenberg
D) Chris Gueffroy
  • 61. What was the name of the organization to which Thomas Krüger belonged?
A) Gesellschaft für Sport und Technik
B) Stasi
C) RAF Gatow
D) Nationale Volksarmee
  • 62. What did the East German government issue to border guards dealing with defectors?
A) Shoot-to-kill orders
B) Arrest and detain orders
C) Shooting orders (Schießbefehl)
D) Capture alive orders
  • 63. How many tunnels were dug under the Berlin Wall?
A) Exactly 50
B) Less than 30
C) At least 70
D) Over 100
  • 64. How many of these tunnels were successful in allowing fugitives to escape?
A) 29
B) 70
C) 50
D) 19
  • 65. What was the name of the operation that provided assistance for escapes through sewers?
A) Sewer Rescue
B) Unternehmen Reisebüro
C) Project Escape
D) Operation Freedom
  • 66. What did East Germans do to prevent defections via sports cars?
A) Used water cannons
B) Installed metal beams at checkpoints
C) Deployed snipers
D) Built zig-zagging roads at checkpoints
  • 67. In which year did David Bowie perform a concert near the Berlin Wall?
A) 1987
B) 1988
C) 1986
D) 1989
  • 68. What was the East German strategy regarding Bruce Springsteen's 1988 concert?
A) "Isolation from Western culture"
B) "Complete suppression of Western influences"
C) "One step backwards, two steps forwards"
D) "Encouraging more concerts by Western artists"
  • 69. Which television station aired footage of Hasselhoff's concert?
A) Vox
B) Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF)
C) BBC
D) CNN
  • 70. What did Kennedy compare being a 'citizen of Berlin' to?
A) Being an American citizen.
B) A member of the United Nations.
C) A supporter of communism.
D) "Civis Romanus sum" (I am a Roman citizen).
  • 71. What chant did protestors in East Germany change from 'Wir wollen raus!' to?
A) 'Wir bleiben hier!' ('We are staying here!')
B) 'Freiheit jetzt!' ('Freedom now!')
C) 'Keine Angst mehr!' ('No more fear!')
D) 'Gerechtigkeit für alle!' ('Justice for all!')
  • 72. Who replaced Erich Honecker as the leader of East Germany on 18 October 1989?
A) Helmut Kohl
B) Egon Krenz
C) Otto von Habsburg
D) Mikhail Gorbachev
  • 73. Where is the East Side Gallery located?
A) Along the Spree River near the Oberbaumbrücke
B) Near Checkpoint Charlie
C) At Bernauer Straße
D) In Schlesischen Busch
  • 74. What can be found at Kieler Strasse in Mitte?
A) An observation tower used by Deutsche Waldjugend
B) A park with a piece of the wall strip
C) The former 'Kieler Eck' watchtower, now a memorial site named after Günter Litfin
D) A section of the Wall known as East Side Gallery
  • 75. What happened to most remnants of the Berlin Wall?
A) They were completely destroyed
B) They were all preserved in their original state
C) They were badly damaged by souvenir seekers
D) They were moved to a museum
  • 76. In a 2004 poll, what percentage of West Germans wished for East and West to be separated again by a 'Wall'?
A) 12 percent
B) 25 percent
C) 58 percent
D) 8 percent
  • 77. In the 2009 poll on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, what percentage of East Germans were unhappy with unification?
A) 25 percent
B) 8 percent
C) 12 percent
D) 58 percent
  • 78. In a 2009 VTsIOM poll, what percentage of Russians thought Berlin residents built the Berlin Wall themselves?
A) 4 percent
B) 24 percent
C) 10 percent
D) 58 percent
  • 79. According to a 2009 VTsIOM poll, what percentage of Russians correctly identified the Soviet Union and East Germany as builders of the Berlin Wall?
A) 6 percent
B) 24 percent
C) 58 percent
D) 10 percent
  • 80. What percentage of Russians did not know who built the Berlin Wall, according to a 2009 VTsIOM poll?
A) 10 percent
B) 24 percent
C) 58 percent
D) 4 percent
  • 81. What percentage of Russians thought Western powers built the Berlin Wall, according to a 2009 VTsIOM poll?
A) 58 percent
B) 10 percent
C) 24 percent
D) 6 percent
  • 82. What percentage of West Berliners supported rebuilding the wall according to a 2019 poll?
A) 8%
B) 87%
C) 35%
D) 14%.
  • 83. What was the support level for rebuilding the wall among supporters of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) in a 2019 poll?
A) 28%
B) 16%.
C) 35%
D) 13%
  • 84. Which documentary tracks down the segments of the Berlin Wall located in the U.S.?
A) Something to Do with the Wall (1991)
B) The American Sector (2020)
C) The Tunnel (December 1962)
D) Rabbit à la Berlin (2009)
  • 85. Which film features a dramatized story of an East-German border guard who was the first to let East Berliners cross into West Berlin on November 9, 1989?
A) The Tunnel (2001)
B) Open The Wall (2014)
C) Good Bye Lenin! (2003)
D) Bridge of Spies (2015)
  • 86. Which film dramatizes a collaborative tunnel under the Berlin Wall?
A) Good Bye Lenin! (2003)
B) The Tunnel (2001)
C) Night Crossing (1982)
D) Berlin Tunnel 21 (1981)
  • 87. Which film is a British-American drama based on the true story of families attempting to escape East Germany in a homemade hot air balloon?
A) Good Bye Lenin! (2003)
B) The Innocent (1993)
C) Bridge of Spies (2015)
D) Night Crossing (1982)
  • 88. Which film is a German comedy set during life in East Berlin in the late 1970s?
A) The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz (1968)
B) Escape from East Berlin (1962)
C) Sonnenallee (1999)
D) Berlin Tunnel 21 (1981)
  • 89. Which artist created artworks along the former border strip around West Berlin as part of his work series Border Injuries?
A) Tom Fedora
B) David Bowie
C) The West-German artist Elsner
D) Toni Fisher
  • 90. Which song by Camel is a concept album themed around families and friends split up by the Berlin Wall?
A) 'Holidays in the Sun' by Sex Pistols
B) 'West of the Wall' by Toni Fisher
C) Stationary Traveller (1984)
D) 'Heroes' (1977) by David Bowie
  • 91. Which song by Roy Harper includes lyrics about the Berlin Wall staying up for thirty years?
A) 'Over de muur' by Klein Orkest
B) 'Berliners'
C) 'Chippin' Away' by Tom Fedora
D) 'Heroes' by David Bowie
  • 92. Which song by David Bowie was inspired by a couple kissing at the Berlin Wall?
A) 'Holidays in the Sun' by Sex Pistols
B) 'Heroes' (1977)
C) 'West of the Wall' by Toni Fisher
D) Stationary Traveller (1984) by Camel
  • 93. Which song by Klein Orkest is about differences between East and West Berlin during the period of the Berlin Wall?
A) 'Berliners' by Roy Harper
B) 'Heroes' by David Bowie
C) 'Chippin' Away' by Tom Fedora
D) 'Over de muur' (1984)
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