[Mr Field]

Following requests from my Year 11 group try the following sites for information on the Berlin Wall:

http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/gcselinks/m...20Wall%20(1961)
http://www.wall-berl...g/gb/berlin.htm
http://members.aol.c...ll/berlinwl.htm
http://www.die-berliner-mauer.de/en/

You could also try this PowerPoint presentation that offers some great ideas:
http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/gcselinks/m.../berlinwall.ppt
[Need PowerPoint on your PC]

or finally, one of my interactive diagrams on the topic!
http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/lessons/col...berlinwall.html

[kjohs]

i have an essay... im stuck

[Mr Field]

Have a look at this interactive diagram for some ideas:
http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/lessons/col...ar_origins.html - also look at the later ones too.

Also - you haven't really asked us a question have you - you've just said "I'm stuck". Have a look at the above link and then perhaps try posting again. Perhaps you could take a little more time to make an appropriate post though ....

[kjohs]

kjohs, on Apr 12 2005, 07:06 PM, said:

i have an essay... im stuck

yes i have asked a question. if you pay the kind of attention to detail that we are supposed to in our sources, you will see that my topic is a question. for your benefit i will kindly state it again:

WHY WAS BERLIN SUCH A TROUBLE SPOT FOR THE SUPERPOWERS 1945-1962?

if it helps to be prompted:
this includes the Berlin airlift. why exactly did that come about?
this includes bizonia etc, the introduction of new currency here, why did this cause problems?
apart from the Berlin wall, what explanations and relevant events are there?

[Mr Field]

Similarly, if it helps to be polite when we provide you with some ideas, you will find the link that I've given you helps you research and work out your answer.

Your second post has been much more helpful - it clearly shows you are now thinking about your question properly. Much better than just putting "I have an essay"....

Explore the link I gave you, together with the later links that are connected with it. For the Berlin Airlift have a look at http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/lessons/col...r_blockade.html

In terms of Berlin, you need to consider the division of Berlin during the WWII Allied conferences (Yalta and Potsdam), then consider the importance of Berlin, leading to the airlift. Then consider the signficance of Berlin and why the Berlin Wall was built.

That should lead to an excellent answer

[fizzytink]

i'm a bit stuck on some homewrok. We have to write notes about the berlin wall but i dont know 1 of the questons. It is to write notes about the ways the crisis over berlin changed relation between superpowers. I've written that the u2 spy plane got shot down adn that eisenhower wudnt apologise so they built the wall but i have to write about 2 other thins and ive oked throygh my txtbooks but i cant find nything else. Please help! im so confused!!

[MrJohnDClare]

If you look at http://www.johndclar...cold_war15b.htm it gives you five results of the Berlin Wall and you will be able to choose and expand on three of them.

fizzytink, on Jan 25 2007, 05:51 PM, said:

I've written that the u2 spy plane got shot down adn that eisenhower wudnt apologise so they built the wall

Note that this doesn't answer the question: 'write notes about the ways the crisis over berlin changed relation between superpowers'.
Don't worry - pupils often get this wrong - but you've confused causes with results.
If you've been asked to write about how the berlin crsis changed superpower relations, you've in fact been asked about the RESULTS of the wall.
When you talk about the U2 crisis, youre talking about one of the CAUSES of the Berlin crisis.

[fizzytink]

ok so ive written about how berlin was split in 2 and berliners died, that the west became more anti-communist, and that america complained but did not stop it bt i am still a bit unsure on how that affected superpower relations. i understand that it effected the berlners and that khrushchev wud have been angry that teh west became more anticommunist but i dont see how it would effect the relations if america complained but did not stop it. I think it may be that russia may think that america is weak but im not sure.

Thankyou for the hel above tho, because it has helped me so far.

Please please help!!

[MrJohnDClare]

fizzytink, on Jan 26 2007, 05:42 PM, said:

ok so ive written about how berlin was split in 2 and berliners died, that the west became more anti-communist, and that america complained but did not stop it bt i am still a bit unsure on how that affected superpower relations. I understand that it effected the berlners and that khrushchev wud have been angry that teh west became more anticommunist

BRILLIANT POINT - you are there, all you need to do now is to explain that these things made the cold war colder.

Quote

but i dont see how it would effect the relations if america complained but did not stop it. I think it may be that russia may think that america is weak but im not sure.

Again - really good point - say so.
It is quite alright in an essay to debate/doubt a point.

Actually, the Berlin Wall was initially a propaganda coup for the Russians (for all the reasons you have said).
In the long term, owever, it turned out to be a disaster for the Russians, because people were trying (and being killed) to get over it for years, and it made Communism look not only like something that everybody hated and wanted to get away from, but also something that killed you when you tried!!
So it IS a bit a of a 'on the one hand... on the other hand' type of answer!!

What strikes me is that you are having some really good ideas, and all you need to do is to think them through/explain them/ 'unpack' them (depending on what words you use at your school) and then HAVE THE CONFIDENCE TO WRITE THEM DOWN.

Best of luck!!
As far as I can see you are thinking along the right lines.
I wish all of my own students were as questioning as you.

[fizzytink]

i was just wandering what the question is asking. "in what ways did the crisis over Berlin change relations between superpower"
is it asking how realtions within the superpowers differed
or is it asking how poeple like berliners, and americans and russians chaged wat they felt of the superpowers. Because i could then write about how the berliners were not happy about how the soviet union broke the agrement about the running of germany
im slightly confused. cold you please help me AGEN!! lol
sorry i keep bothering you

This post has been edited by fizzytink: 01 May 2007 - 05:15 PM

[MrJohnDClare]

fizzytink, on Jan 26 2007, 08:46 PM, said:

i was just wandering what the question is asking. "in what ways did the crisis over Berlin change relations between superpower"
is it asking how realtions within the superpowers differed
or is it asking how poeple like berliners, and americans and russians chaged wat they felt of the superpowers. Because i could then write about how the berliners were not happy about how the soviet union broke the agrement about the running of germany

Ohmygoodnes!!!
You are absolutely correct in suggesting that, by a strict interpretation, the question is solely about relations between the USA and the USSR. That is indeed what it says!
You would make a VERY good lawyer, and I bet you catch out a lot of people in arguments!!!!

However, for GCSE, I would fudge!
Merge the two together.
I wouldn't think you need to be exactly strict about ONLY talking about the USA and the USSR.
In a way, if the Berliners got crosser about the USSR, that sort of strengthened the USA's position, didn't it?
What you need is what are called 'weasel words'.
Write what you want to write about the Berliners, but then tag on a sentence at the end which 'makes it relevant' - such as: 'Thus relations between west and east deteriorated further, the cold war deepened, and relations between two blocs/the superpowers worsened.'
You'll only not get away with it if your teacher is VERY eagle-eyed and VERY finickity!!
To be fair, both superpowers WERE closely linked to their allies, so that if the Berliners fell out with the Soviets, the Americans were part of that.
So if you don't get away with it, complain loudly!!!

By the way, you will find that much of History is like that - manipulating the facts you have to fit the argument you want to make - and if you master the technique it should serve you very well up to University.
Well... until you meet someone who is as clever a lawyer as you are.

[fizzytink]

thankyou so much i finally undertstand what the quesion is asking. i never realy thought of being a lawyer, more of a teacher. but thankyou for the comments
im not sure if i would be able to get away with it, however i will complain if he dousnt allow it
i know i keep asking questions but i wanddered how would i end the question becuase on a prvious question i had done the queston, but obviously i did not finish it properly because he wrote a comment saying it was not finished, i did re-apply the question at the end but i dont think it was the best ending
could you please help!!!!

[MrJohnDClare]

Again, a really good question, well worth asking.

I think the answer is that it depends on what yor teacher is looking for.

There is a way of writing essays that sort of goes:
Beginning: 'This is what I'm going say:...'
Middle: [Says it]
End: 'There, I've said it!'
So if your teacher favours this approach all he wants is a conclusion which sums up the meat and meaning of the essay you have just written.

The advantage of this is that - by starting with a summary of what you are going to say - you prove to the examiner that you have planned the essay, which is worth mark, actually.

But personally, I hate this kind of essay! I like essays which gradually reveal what is going on, so the picture reveals itself to the reader as the argument works itself out.
I think starting and ending with a summary just wastes words - and time (which is an issue in an exam).

So I tell my own pupils just to weigh straight in - thus, if you had been asked to say 'Why the Cold War broke out', you start off: 'The first reason the Cold War broke out was...' If you have been asked how the Berlin Wall damaged superpower relations, you kick of with a shot at goal: 'The first way the Berlin Wall damaged superpower relaions was that...'

However, this kind of essay MUST have a good conclusion.
Now this is where many GCSE students fail, because all they do is repeat themselves - they say what they have said in the essay only shorter, in slightly different words.
The absolute example of this is that essay which asks which was more important, A or B, and they write an essay 'On the one hand A... on the other hand B', and their conclusion goes: 'So A was important but so was B, they were both important in their own way.'
This is indeed an ending, but it gets you no marks, because it's just repeating what you have already said.

So what can you say - you need something new to round off your argument.

For me, the answer lies in the difference between ANALYSE and ASSESS.
'Analyse' is where you explain - I assume you have been doing this throughout your essay, explaining all the different ways in which the Berlin Wall damaged relations between the superpowers.
As long as you are explaining, you are analysing, and that's a level 2 answer.
(If all you are doing is describing, then that's a level 1 answer - it will still pass, but it's not as good as if you can explain HOW this matter worked to damage or improve relations.)

But to get to level 3, you have to assess.
How do you do that?
If the essay had asked 'Which was the most important' it's very easy to assess. You merely WEIGH the two sides and then explain your decision.
In your kind of essay, you can't do this - all you'll get is a comment: 'But the question doesnlt ask which is the most important'.
So your 'assessment' has to be cleverer.
Two ideas:
Is there any way all your points are linked? Is there something which links them all together - a common thread running through them? If there is, you could say what it it is and explain how each of your points fits in with this. Your conclusion for this will start: 'For me, the crux of the issue is that...'
Or is there any underlying issue? Something that you haven't mentioned, but which underpins everything you've said above and sort of makes it all OBVIOUS!!! when you realise it. Again, if there is, you could say what it it is and explain how it underlies each of your points and your conclusion for this will start: 'For me, the crux of the issue is that...'

(Thirdly, actually, have you found that the Berlin Wall improved relations in any way? If your points included both ways it damaged, and ways it improved superpower relations, then you could do an 'assess' paragraph which decides between 'positive' and 'negative' - you could tweak your essay into an 'either ... or' essay.)

Hope this helps.

[fizzytink]

thankyou so much!!! this is soooo helpful.
i cant tell u how much i appreciate the help!!

[mockingbird]

I'm having some trouble with homework.
I've been told to explain how the construction of the Berlin Wall changed relations between the USA and the USSR, however my textbooks and course packs ect. don't actually help at all. I tried the BBC...But that was pointless.
Some help would be very, very useful.