The German 2 and 3 students at Prairie High School in Frau (Mrs.) Hereford’s classes are learning about the former countries of East and West Germany. German 2 students are recreating the murals of the East Side Gallery.   The East Side Gallery,  which was once a part of the Berlin Wall, is the longest open-air gallery in the world.  German 3 students are scripting graffiti in the style that was on the West Side of the wall before it fell in 1989.  The creations will be on display in the high school until November 9th, the anniversary of the fall of the wall, when we will tear down the wall much like people did when it fell. 

In addition to creating the wall, students did a simulation of what it was like to be in Berlin on the 16th of August when the wall went up literally overnight; they learned about the history behind the division of East & West Germany & the Berlin Wall. Students researched the city of Mödalreuth, which is on the former East and West German border, and was cut in half by another wall.  This was unusual because most people along the East-West border were relocated at least 5 km away from the Eastern fence. 

The students listened to and saw what the East and West Punk scene of the time was like and listened to the popular pop song “99 Red Balloons” while learning the history behind it as a warning of war & call for peace.  They read about the Young Pioneers, a youth organization from East Germany, and watched how the wall accidentally & peacefully fell November 9th due to a mistake made at a press conference.