This exercise aims to analyse historical sources critically and work out the different ways in which the end of the war is remembered in East and West Germany. You will recognise that the Cold War in the background is also partly responsible for the differences. At the same time, it becomes clear how difficult it was for the Germans in East Germany to come to terms with their inglorious past and how the ideological differences between the two systems masked this re-evaluation.
Introduction:
Using a historical map the teacher recapitulates the division of Germany, which continued to manifest itself in the immediate post-war period until 1949.
Step 1: Division into groups – introduction to group work
The class is divided into two groups. One group will deal with the culture of remembrance in the Federal Republic of Germany, the other with the memory of the end of the war in the GDR. The material for the source work is stored on the interactive map, as are the corresponding work assignments/questions. The individual materials have different levels of difficulty so that the large groups can also be further differentiated in terms of pupil level.
Step 2: Working with the historical sources
The groups work on the source material – in whole or in part – and record their results in a two-column table.
Step 3: Presentation to the class
The different groups take it in turns to present their findings to the class. They supplement their documents with the results of the other group.
Step 4: Discussion in class/deepening
The class discusses the overall results together.
Key questions:
Which aspects of the end of the war are more important in each of the two regimes: ‘defeat’ or ‘liberation’?
How can the different culture of remembrance in East and West be explained?
What significance did the speech of 8 May 1945 have for the culture of remembrance in West Germany and later in the unified Germany?