Understanding how Germany and Europe ended the Cold War
"Peaceful Revolution and German Unity" is the title of a new exhibition created by the Federal Foundation for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in East Germany.
It documents a time when tight borders ran through Germany and separated eastern from western Europe and how millions of people in former East Germany (GDR), Poland, Hungary and other Eastern European countries fought for freedom and democracy in 1989.
The exhibition targets a young audience, which is why it was first presented in Berlin's Heinrich-Hertz secondary school. Students had done additional research on the exhibits documenting the history of the Cold War, which their parents or grandparents experienced firsthand.
Photos, short texts and QR codes linking to additional videos are mounted on large displays marking pivotal dates. One of them is November 9, 1989, when the Berlin Wall came down. Another is February 19 of the same year, when 20-year-old Chris Gueffroy became the last person to be shot and killed by East German border guards as he attempted to escape from East to West Berlin.
Jön Zenner, a 17-year-old student, says he only really got his head........
© Deutsche Welle
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