CLIL History

DIFFICULTIES IN WESTERN SOCIETIES AND THE RISE OF NEW WORLDS (1971-2018) ACTIVITY 4.H Read the following paragraphs and then put them in order. Paragraph 1 is given. The Fall of the Berlin Wall A 1 In 1989 the Democratic Republic of Germany was nearing its collapse. He gave an unexpected answer, as he said that the crossing points at the borders would be opened immedi- B ately. On 4 November, in Alexanderplatz, in the centre of East Berlin, more than 500,000 protesters took to the streets in an impressive march under the banner We are the people . C The ruling elite, led by Erich Honecker, was challenged by recurrent demonstrations of pacifist and religious organisations. Furthermore, many East German citizens were leaving the country since it had become possible to reach West Germany through Hungary. The East German authorities were powerless to stop this endless flow of people. D E In October Honecker was forced to resign when protests against the Soviets were organized in many important cities of the country. F The news quickly spread and that same night thousands of East Berliners gathered near the Wall and freely crossed the checkpoints while the unprepared soldiers had no idea what to do. The people in West Berlin took to the streets as well, and during the night, many began to climb the Wall and demolish it. In the area around the Wall, where over the years many people had died trying to escape to West Berlin, Berliners improvised an astonishing street party, singing, dancing and drinking. The turning point occurred on 9 November, when the German democratic government made the decision to open its borders in Berlin. During a press conference a journalist asked the government s spokesperson when the decision would go into effect. G The End of the USSR On 8 December, 1991, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was founded and the USSR definitively ended. In a television speech on 25 December Mikhail S. Gorbachev resigned from the presidency of the Soviet Union, which ceased to exist that same day. A few hours later the American President George Bush made an announcement claiming the American victory of the Cold War. PRIMARY SOURCE from Mikhail S. Gorbachev and George Bush s speeches, 25 December 1991: President Mikhail S. Gorbachev [...] I firmly came out in favor of the independence of nations and sovereignty for the republics. At the same time, I support the preservation of the union state and the integrity of this country.The developments took a different course. The policy prevailed of dismembering this country and disuniting the state, which is something I cannot subscribe to. [...] This country was suffocating in the shackles of the bureaucratic command system. Doomed to cater to ideology, and suffer and carry the onerous burden of the arms race, it found itself at the breaking point. [...] However, an effort of historical importance has been carried out. The totalitarian system has been eliminated, which prevented this country from becoming a prosperous and well-to-do country a long time ago. A breakthrough has been effected on the road of democratic change. [...] We re now living in a new world. An end has been put to the cold war and to the arms race, as well as to the mad militarization of the country, which has crippled our economy, public attitudes and morals. The threat of nuclear war has been removed. 54