HIS CW-23 WALL COMES DOWN

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Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

For nearly three decades, the Berlin Wall symbolized the Iron Curtain that separated East from West. But by 1989, the Wall was starting to crumble -- and by the end of the year it would collapse.
FIRST CRACK
In December 1988, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev met with outgoing U.S. President Ronald Reagan and his successor, George Bush. Gorbachev had decided that the Cold War must end -- and that Soviet control over the Communist bloc nations must be loosened. He told the peoples of Eastern Europe that they had the right of self-determination. But his listeners -- including those in the United States -- were skeptical of the Soviet response if non-Communist leaders were elected.
In Hungary, where Soviet tanks smashed an uprising in 1956, people were again growing angry. Economic reforms had met with disaster, and the Communist Party was losing control. In fear, the leadership promised more democracy -- and planned for multi-party elections. Hungarian Prime Minister Miklos Nemeth went to Moscow to inform Gorbachev -- who didn't approve but promised no repeat of 1956.
Hungarian reforms included the rehabilitation of the 1956 uprising's leaders. Executed leader Imre Nagy and his comrades were given a public funeral, and the government declared the revolution justified. A month earlier, the Hungarian government made an even bolder move, taking down the barbed wire on its border with Austria and the West. The Soviet Union did nothing. Although travel was still not completely free, the Iron Curtain was starting to unravel.

Who succeeded Ronald Reagan as President of the U.S.?

a.	Gorbachev	c.	Gerald Ford
b.	George Bush	d.	Henry Kissinger

What communist leader believed that Soviet domination of Eastern Europe must end?

a.	Ronald Reagan	c.	Kosegan
b.	Mikhail Gorbachev	d.	Nikita Khrushchev

In 1956 the Soviet Union put down a revolution in Hungry with tanks. They killed thousands of people including the leader of the revolution. In 1989 the communist party in Hungry agreed to allow free elections, they honored the leaders of the 56 revolution as heroes and took down the barbed wire between Hungry and Vienna. What did this show?

a.	that Hungry was now a capitalist country	c.	that the communist party and the Soviets were loosing control in Hungry
b.	that the Soviets no longer cared what the Hungarians did	d.	that the communist party was as strong as ever in Hungry

Because of their long history of repression, most people in the West did not believe the Soviets when they said they wanted reforms in East Europe

true

false

POLAND
The Poles, like the Hungarians, were breaking with the communist system. Faced with a wave of political strikes led by the Solidarity opposition movement, the communist regime had given way. In early 1989, government leaders opened talks with Solidarity and were prepared to share power and discuss a shift toward democracy.
In June, elections were held -- and produced a stunning defeat for the communists. Solidarity won 99 out of 100 seats in the Senate. Within weeks, the first anti-communist prime minister in the Soviet bloc took office. At a Warsaw Pact summit in July, Eastern bloc leaders were divided. East Germany's Erich Honecker and Romania's Nicolae Ceausescu were alarmed by events in Poland and Hungary. Some say they even conspired to urge Soviet intervention.
At about the same time, U.S. President Bush visited Poland and Hungary, giving them moral support for democratic change -- but little else. Back in the United States, Bush's secretary of state, James Baker, assured his Soviet counterpart, Eduard Shevardnadze, that the West would tread carefully in Eastern Europe and not exploit Soviet problems there.

What was the movement that opposed communist dictatorship in Poland called?

a.	Solidarity	c.	The AFL-CIO
b.	The Polish League	d.	The Catholic League

Which two Eastern European leaders were against the freedom movements in Poland and Hungry?

a.	Goering and Mussolini	c.	Gorbachev and Khrushchev
b.	Erich Honecker and Eduard Shevardnadze	d.	Erich Honecker and Nicolae Ceausescu

Who was President Bushes Secretary of State in 1989?

a.	Henry Kissinger	c.	James Baker
b.	Gerald Ford	d.	Colin Powell

What did President Bush promise the Soviet Union?

a.	That he would not use the problems in Poland to make the Soviets look bad	c.	That he would not cut off aid to Russia
b.	That he would send aid to Poland	d.	That he would not remove American troops from West Germany

EXODUS
In East Germany, Erich Honecker refused to admit there was anything wrong with his system -- but in reality, the country was rotting away. Pollution poisoned the air and water. The economy was running down. The police state provoked mass suspicion and stifled all initiative.
In the summer of 1989, East Germans rushed to take vacations in Hungary -- where the border with the West was weakening -- and besieged the West German Embassy in Budapest, demanding help to emigrate.
In Berlin, Honecker called the refugees moral outcasts and blocked further travel to Hungary. Desperate, the fleeing East Germans turned to Czechoslovakia -- and gathered at the West German Embassy in Prague. Refugees crammed themselves into the embassy and refused to leave -- until, under Soviet and West German pressure, Honecker consented to a face-saving deal: The refugees could go to West Germany, but only if their train crossed East German territory first. Then Honecker could claim he had expelled them and canceled their citizenship

Where did the East Germans go to escape East Germany control?

a.	Hungary than Poland	c.	Czechoslovakia then Romania
b.	Poland then Czechoslovakia	d.	Hungary then Czechoslovakia

10.

From all of the events that were happening in Eastern Europe in Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and East Germany, it was easy to see that

a.	the people did not want to be capitalist	c.	the communist system was strong
b.	the communist system was falling apart	d.	the Soviet Union had control of the situation

11.

What was Honeker afraid of

a.	That Germany would be unified under communism	c.	That Germany would be united and communism would end in East Germany
b.	That Germany would be divided into East and West	d.	That West Germany would become communist

PROTEST
Some East Germans chose to stay and protest. Inspired by Gorbachev, they dreamed of turning their country into a democracy. Weekly demonstrations in Leipzig soon swelled into mass protests. Police tried to stop them, but the government was losing its nerve.
Only Honecker seemed confident of his country's future. As he welcomed Gorbachev to Berlin on the eve of East Germany's 40th anniversary in October 1989, he pretended not to notice when a group of communist youth marchers dropped their rehearsed slogans and began to chant "Gorby, save us!"
The Soviet leader's visit had in fact galvanized protests against the deeply unpopular Communist regime. Gorbachev suggested to Honecker that the way to stop public protest engulfing his government would be to introduce a German version of perestroika. Honecker would not listen -- he was planning to stamp out the new opposition. Some feared a repeat of the Chinese crackdown against dissidents earlier that year in Tiananmen Square. An internal plot was hatching against Honecker. A group in the East German Politburo had decided it was time for him to go.

12.

Why did East German youths chant, "Gorby, save us!" to Gorbachev?

a.	they wanted him to support Honecker	c.	they wanted him to stamp out the protests
b.	they wanted him to save them from Western democracy	d.	They wanted him to bring the same kind of openness he had brought to Russia

13.

In the Eastern Europe protests, who was the hard liner that took a firm position against the protestors?

a.	Gorbachev	c.	Gorbachev and Honecker
b.	Honecker	d.	Neither were hard liners

14.

Why were public protests engulfing the government of East Germany

a.	the protestors wanted to remain communist	c.	the protestors wanted the war in Afghanistan to end
b.	the protestors wanted to go to the United States	d.	the protestors wanted Western style freedom

TURNING POINT
A protest rally was planned for two days later in Leipzig. The East German army was on alert, and the city was in a state of emergency. As the demonstration began, 70,000 people were on the streets. Alarmed, the Soviet ambassador telephoned the commander of Soviet forces in the region -- and ordered them not to interfere. Local Communist Party leaders begged the opposition to talk. Then, without higher orders, officials pulled back the police and troops. The demonstration went off peacefully. For East Germans, this was the turning point.
Deserted by his allies, Honecker was voted out of power by the entire Politburo on October 17. Egon Krenz took charge, promising to implement democratic reforms -- and make it easier for East Germans to travel West, the issue that had set off the whole crisis. On November 1, he traveled to Moscow, where Gorbachev urged him to ease travel restrictions. Krenz offered East Germans new freedoms, but demonstrators wanted more

15.

In the passage above it is easy to see that

a.	East Germany had given in to the protestors	c.	West Germany was not very appealing to East Germans
b.	East Germany was taking a firm stand against the protestors	d.	West Germany wanted to be communist

16.

What do you think was the main reason most East Germans wanted to travel to West Germany

a.	to see how people in West Germany lived	c.	the weather was better in West Germany
b.	to visit friends and relatives in West Germany	d.	the West Germans were giving away free beer and pretzels

17.

When the East German communists went to Gorbachev for advice, what did he tell them to do.

a.	take military action against the demonstrators	c.	close the German borders
b.	grant more freedom to the demonstrators	d.	ignore the demonstrators and the situation would go away by itself

REUNION
With street protests mounting, and thousands of people fleeing the country daily, East Germany was on the verge of disintegration. On November 9, East German Politburo member Gunter Schabowski told journalists in Berlin that restrictions on travel to the West would be lifted. The government meant the change to start the next day. But Schabowski mistook the timing -- and told reporters the change was immediate. The news flashed around the city. East Berliners rushed to see if the checkpoints in the Wall were really opening. Borders guards were baffled. They had only one order -- to stop anyone trying to escape. But the crowds were huge. Suddenly, the guards gave in and opened the barriers.
West Berliners arrived from the other direction and began to demolish the Wall in front of the Brandenburg Gate. Across the Wall, two worlds had faced each other in arms. Now their enmity was dumped into history. Germany would be reunited. Europe's revolution against communism would continue throughout the rest of East Europe. The cold war was over.

18.

Who planned and organized the revolt in East Germany against communism?

a.	the CIA	c.	no one. it was an uprising by ordinary people
b.	the KGB	d.	the Soviets

19.

The East German border guards were ordered to stop people from crossing into West Germany. What did they do when thousands of East Germans showed up at the border to cross into the West?

a.	Strung barbed wire across the border	c.	Started shooting at the protestors
b.	Asked the Soviet Union for tanks and support	d.	Gave up and let the people pass

20.

The U.S. won the cold war because the democratic ideals espoused by the United States finally defeated communism.

true

false