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