A wall cut a city in two for many years — then, one night, the people brought it down.
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These are the new words for the Berlin Wall. Match each word (1–8) to its meaning (A–H). Say your answers out loud — "I think 1 is D" — then check.
1 = D (a wall) · 2 = A (a border) · 3 = C (a guard) · 4 = B (to escape)
5 = F (divided) · 6 = E (a crowd) · 7 = G (free) · 8 = H (to celebrate)
Read each part. Then try the questions from memory, and talk about the last one.
After the Second World War, in 1945, the winners divided Germany. One part was in the West and was free. One part was in the East and was communist. Berlin, the capital city, was in the East, but it was also divided. West Berlin was like a small free island inside the communist East.
Life in the West was better. The shops were full. People were free to talk and to travel. Life in the East was hard. There was less food, and the government watched the people all the time. So many people left the East. They walked into West Berlin, and they did not come back.
Between 1949 and 1961, about three million people escaped from the East. The East lost many young workers. The leaders were angry and afraid. So one night, on 13 August 1961, soldiers built a border across the city. People went to sleep in one city. They woke up in two. Families were now on different sides. This was the start of the Berlin Wall.
1. Why did so many people leave the East?
2. What happened on the night of 13 August 1961?
1. Life in the East was hard. There was less food, and the government watched people. Life in the West was free and better.
2. Soldiers built a border across the city in one night. In the morning, the city was cut in two, and families were on different sides.
The Wall was there for twenty-eight years. It was not just one wall. It was two walls, with an empty space between them. Guards stood in high towers. They had dogs and lights, and they had orders to shoot people who tried to cross. It was very dangerous.
But some people still tried to escape to the West. They were very brave and clever. Some people dug long tunnels under the Wall. One family made a hot-air balloon and flew over it at night. Some people drove fast cars through the border. Many people got to the West. But many people did not — more than a hundred people died at the Wall.
On the East side, life went on, but it was not free. The secret police, the Stasi, watched everyone. They asked neighbours to tell them about neighbours. People were careful with their words. Slowly, people got used to this life. They did not like the Wall, but for many years they lived with it.
1. Why was the Wall so dangerous?
2. Give one way that people tried to escape to the West.
1. It was two walls with an empty space between them. Guards in towers had dogs, lights and orders to shoot people who tried to cross.
2. People dug tunnels under it, flew over it in a hot-air balloon, or drove fast cars through the border. (Any one is fine.)
In 1989, big changes came to Eastern Europe. In East Germany, thousands of people went into the streets. They protested, but they did not fight. The government was weak and afraid. It tried to give the people new, easier travel rules.
On 9 November 1989, a government man spoke on television about the new rules. A reporter asked him, "When do the rules start?" The man was not sure. He looked at his papers and said, "Now. Right now." This was a mistake — but the words were on television, and everyone heard them.
People from the East walked to the Wall. A huge crowd stood at the border and asked the guards to open it. The guards did not want to shoot their own people. At last, one guard opened the gate. The crowd ran through. People cried and hugged. Some climbed on top of the Wall and danced. Others took hammers and broke pieces off it. Less than one year later, on 3 October 1990, East and West Germany became one country again.
1. What mistake did the government man make on television on 9 November 1989?
2. What did the people do when the guards opened the gate?
1. He said the new travel rules started "now, right now", but this was a mistake. Everyone heard it on television.
2. The crowd ran through. People cried and hugged, danced on the Wall, and broke pieces off it.
This is a story about the past. To tell it, we use the Past Simple. There are two kinds of verbs: regular and irregular.
Write the past simple of the verb in brackets.
1. The guards (watch) the border every day.
2. In 1990, the two countries (join) again.
3. People (climb) on top of the Wall and (dance).
1. watched
2. joined
3. climbed · danced (dance already ends in -e, so we just add -d)
Write the past simple of the irregular verb in brackets.
1. Soldiers (build) the Wall in one night.
2. Many people (go) from the East to the West.
3. The crowd (run) through the gate, and some people (break) the Wall.
1. built
2. went
3. ran · broke
Put each verb in the past simple. Some are regular and some are irregular. Read it aloud when you finish.
On 13 August 1961, soldiers (build) a wall across the city. Families (wake) up in two different cities. For many years, guards (watch) the border. Then, in 1989, a huge crowd (come) to the Wall, and the guards (open) the gate.
built (irregular) · woke (irregular) · watched (regular) · came (irregular) · opened (regular)
Regular verbs add -ed. Irregular verbs change to a new word — learn each one.
There is a real podcast about the Berlin Wall. It is for native speakers, so it is fast and quite difficult — that is normal! You do not need to understand every word.
From the Noiser podcast network. About 50 minutes. It plays on the Noiser site, or search "Short History Of The Berlin Wall" on Spotify.
Play on Noiser →Do all three tasks out loud. Use the timer to keep talking.
Tell the story of the Berlin Wall in your own words. Use these steps to help you: Germany divided after the war → soldiers built the Wall in one night in 1961 → dangerous guards and brave escapes → life under the secret police → the mistake on television in 1989 → the crowd, the open gate, and one country again.
Try to use the past simple — regular verbs (watched, opened, celebrated) and irregular verbs (built, went, ran, came, broke) — and some of the key words (wall, border, guard, escape, divided, crowd, free, celebrate).
The Wall stopped people from leaving. Do you think a wall between two places is ever a good idea? When, and why? When is it a bad idea?
Tell a story about a big change. Use the past simple to say what happened.
Not sure what to talk about? Choose one: