After World War Two, Germany was war ravaged and destroyed. The Allies, Britain, France, United States and the Soviet Union occupied the war-torn and defeated Germany. Germany was split into two sections. The Western part controlled by the U.S., France, and Great Britain. The Eastern part of Germany was controlled by the Soviet Union. Tensions between the West and East emerged during what became known as the Cold War period (1945-1989). The difference in ideologies and ideas led to close calls to war between the west and east. Within the Eastern part of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), society was being controlled ruthlessly by the government. In Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall, Anna Funder discussed the struggles East Germans …show more content…
For example, a woman named Julia was interrogated for having an Italian boyfriend. The Stasi believed Julia's boyfriend was a potential spy and a threat to the GDR. Julia was constantly under surveillance of the Stasi. She would notice black cars following her outside her home, her telephone were intercepted and recorded. She was also naturally being searched. The Stasis made her life worse when they ruined here dreams of becoming a language interpreter. She was fascinated with learning different languages as she communicated with others outside the world in different languages. She was hoping that her future career path would embrace her talents. However, the Stasi controlled her future and decided her education path. She was sent to a boarding school that made sure she did not attend a university, despite her good grades and knowledge (Funder 94-117). Julia was one of the many people who were constantly under surveillance by the …show more content…
Some East Germans felt the Stasi and government were doing their duty to defend and protect the GDR. In East Germany, information was closely controlled by the government and its press outlets. The government controlled magazines, newspapers, and television. Censorship was an ongoing issue that put pressure on writers (Funder 17). In Stasiland, Anna Funder interviewed a man named Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler. Von Schnitzler’s role in the GDR was to use propaganda through his television show “The Black Channel” to speak out against the evils of Capitalism and bolster up GDR’s reputation. Von Schintzler served during WWII in Hitler’s army and was captured by the British and sent to England as a POW where he was able to make broadcasts for the BBC. He returned to Germany in 1945 and worked in broadcasting in the British Occupied Zone but was more applied to Communist ideas. He left to the Soviet controlled zone of Germany (Funder 130-131). When Funder interviews Von Schintzler and you really get a sense of a strong supporter of the GDR. He was asked by Funder what he thought about the people shot trying to escape over the Berlin Wall. He stated, “It was absolutely necessary…It was a historical necessity… It was the most useful construction in all Germany’s history (Funder 134). Von Schintzler was an extreme believer in the GDR and told Funder that he is still loved by the
The Book Stasiland uses the interviews with victims and perpetrators to inform the reader on life in East Germany. To some extent, Anna Funder does paint a black a white picture of her views, separating the victims from the perpetrators. As she despises the GDR/Stasi, Funder still acknowledges that many of the officials were just doing what was told and were reluctant to react, in fear of falling under the stasis harsh rules. Despite this, many of the officials were strong believers in the system, and do not regret life damaged due to their job. The Stories of Miriam, Julia and Frau Paul do highlight how the Stasi’s tough rules, may devastate ones life and Funder recognizes this by sympathizing for the victims. By seeing the effect the
The map shows Germany was divided into West Berlin and East Berlin as a result of the cold war because the West Berlin was democratic while East Berlin was communist. In document 3b, an image is shown of the Berlin wall being built as a result of tension from both believing they sent spies and soldiers into one another’s territory. In West Berlin, the United States and its allies used its money to make West Berlin a good advert for democracy and capitalism. Citizens in West Berlin had good living conditions and earned good wages while the citizens in East Berlin were
Both Author Wes and Felon Wes come to learn similar lessons in the last chapter of the book. They both come to realize how much their environment influences them especially when the Author Wes goes to Africa he let the environment there have a huge impact on him and let it turn him to a mature adult where as Felon Wes let the many negative influences around him become his life. Lastly at the end of each of their stories both reflect on their future Felon Wes had never been able to see into his future and know what was going to happen but now that he had been sentenced to jail for life he could see exactly what his future
After World War II, Germany were divided into four occupied sectors. As shown on the map, the city of Berlin was divided and each dominated by a sector of the Allied Powers: Soviet Union, United States, Britain and France (Doc 3a). East Berlin was controlled under a communist rule by the Soviet Union, while West Berlin was governed under a democratic government. Winston Churchill additionally enhanced the idea of the Iron Curtain being that it represented an invisible line that separated the democratic countries of Western Europe from the communist countries of Eastern Europe. The Soviet Union built the Berlin Wall to restrained people in East Berlin from fleeing to West Berlin. East Germans constructed the Berlin Wall to formally split East and West Berlin (Doc 3b). The Soviet Union denied access to transportation, food and water. The Berlin airlift was an event in which the United States, Britain, and France delivered goods to the people of West Berlin for 11 months after Stalin set up a
After World War 2 had ended, the four big nations remaining met to divide Germany. Among this division meant the divide between communism and capitalism that drew a line which eventually was called the Iron Curtain and split all of Europe as well as Germany. Within Germany there was also a divide in the capital, Berlin (Doc B). The Soviets wanted the control of eastern Berlin to guarantee that Germany would never be able to strike Russia again.
The formal mission of Collin County is to deliver services including justice, public safety, infrastructure, and public health as mandated by the State of Texas and to execute other priorities as determined by the Commissioners Court (Collin County). The mission statement is very concise and specific at times by mentioning the main services that are provided, such as justice, public safety, infrastructure, and public health. Length of mission statements can be cumbersome at times to understand because of conflicting views. Collin’s mission provides insight into the purpose that the organization is trying to fulfill and constitutes a great statement. Collin County’s mission statement does not guide particular actions or policies because it
After the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, Germany was split between the Allies (France, Britain, and the United States) in the west and the Soviets in the East. Similarly, Berlin, although in East Germany, was split between the Allies and Soviets. In order to stop people from escaping the communist control of the “German Democratic Republic” (as the Soviets called East Germany), a wall was built around West Berlin seemingly overnight on August 13th, 1961. A secret police force known as the Staatssicherheitsdienst, (shortened to Stasi) kept information on every East German citizen through a vast network of spies, and also had the responsibility of discovering and ending plots to escape into the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). Anna Funder’s memoir, Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall takes a unique look at stories of both the victims, and the Stasi themselves, trying to piece together what really happened in behind the Wall.
In the Stasiland, Anna Funder explores the impact the Cold War has scared victims and enabled them to heal and move on. All the sufferers had different stories to tell and experienced different life traumas but they all had some sort of interrelationship with the East German regime. However, this novel was subjective therefore they may have been other victims we have not heard or felt sympathy for. The Stasiland was a well-written non-fiction
And later lead into the Cold War, after the Harry Truman entered the office in America. Cold war leader to the separation of Germany to east and west, where consist of West was controlled by the western countries like Great Britain and United States running on socialist republic. At the same time soviet occupy zone was East Germany, where was would run on communism. Some evident suggest that people from the
To refresh your memory, at the end of World War II, the Allied powers divided Germany into four different zones. Decided at the Potsdam Conference, each separate zone was controlled by The United States, Soviet Union, France, and Great Britain. (Rosenburg) But as the relationships between The Soviet Union and the rest of The Allied Powers quickly evaporated, aggression and power became the main focus. The United States, France, and Great Britain combined their zones, creating “West Germany”, and The Soviet controlled zoned turned into “East Germany” (Rosenburg). Being controlled by democratic nations, West Germany’s living conditions and economy were flourishing. Almost Miraculously. On the other
2. After WWII, Germany was divided into four zones. West Germany was occupied by the U.S., Britain, and France. Whereas East Germany was occupied by the Soviet Union. Berlin
The SS and Gestapo (secret police) acting under the orders of Himmler, made terror a regular occurrence and a matter of state policy. Any sort of opponents were beaten and regularly thrown
The United States and Russia were feuding at the time during the Cold War – United States being a capitalist state whilst Russia being communist. The people of Germany although had the same history and same language were divided. West Germans had freedoms whilst East Germans had tight restriction and oppression under the USSR. Under the USSR persons were under strict censorship and were unable to leave country whilst under the Allied powers all persons of West Germany had freedom of speech, religion as well as could even form their own political parties to help in
Along with every other nation around the globe, Germany has its own unique past. From the days previous to Bismarck to present time, the Germans have undergone significant trials and tribulations. Unfortunately for Germany the world will forever equate German history with Hitler and the Third Reich. As educated people, we need to be able to get past this stigma and appreciate the Germans for who they truly are. After the ending of the Second World War, Germany was divided in two: a free western Germany, and the communist East Germany. West Germany flourished while East Germany struggled to breathe under the heavy shadow of the Soviet Union. In 1990, after the Berlin Wall fell, Germany finally became one again with the union of East
As I arrived to TALA, I was instantly impressed by the monumental architecture before me. The symmetry of the building was elegant and well complimented by its weathered look. It is difficult to imagined that this very building had once housed the mentally ill. I have never seen such a facility before and thus expected something less remarkable. As I stood admiring the building, I noticed the multitude of windows it contained. Upon further examination, I saw bars surrounding them and suddenly realized that the illusion of paradise was in reality a prison for those who dwelled here. I was surprised to learn how many people were actually housed in this building. I was equally shocked to discovered what passed as mentally insane during the 19th century. The criteria used to determine mental problems were nonexistent and arbitrary. I was extremely concerned when the tour guide mentioned kids being born and raised in TALA. It was also distressing to learn that people who didn’t quality as having mental problems were also placed into such a facility. I was further surprised to learn that the community had openly embraced TALA as part of their home to the extent that a high school prom was held inside the building. This helped me to recognize that TALA was more than just an insane asylum, it was truly home to those living inside and outside of the building. As I progressed through the tour, I discovered that I was unaware of the many practices of insane asylums, especially the