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