Have you ever thought about what it was like for people living on the east side of the Berlin Wall, and how apart yet so exlusive to themselves they were. I watched the film "Good bye Lenin!" for a film relating to my topic of communism. This is a flm made in Germany and it was directed by Wolfgang Becker and has well known German actor Daniel Bruhl. It has also been nominated for a golden globe and has recieved several European awards and nominations. This film is a fictional, comedy, drama, yet based on true events which was eastern Berlin communism.
This film was very well made, as I was watching it I felt as if I was being taught more and more about my subject. The writer who was also the director really knew what he was talking about when he made this film. The film was full of very valid information yet contained a very strong and emotional storyline.
I really loved this film because of it's storyline and the information it presented about eastern socialists in Berlin during the fall of communism in Germany. The whole story is what really touched me though, it was about a family living in hard times and the strong socialist mother has a heart attack before communism falls. She goes into a coma for eight months as the Berlin Wall falls along with the U.S.S.R. and when she wakes up, she can't be excited for the risk of another heart attack. So the son keeps the knowledge of the new Germany from her as she recovers. This film is very good and well done and teaches us that time is always moving as the world moves, and we can't stop things from happening such as and end and rebirth of a nation or it's government.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Reflection
Before studying the Cold War, I was not aware of how comprehensive it was. Now I feel fairly knowledgeable on the subject even though some things I'm still not aware of some things and all the key factors dealing with the Cold War and how it was resolved. I have found lots of information about Stalin and have learned how to find different information from different resources. I had to ponder over which resources were reliable ones and which ones presented the best information. I have learned a lot so far with in information and also finding information, I feel like I know a lot about communism and how our country tries to deal with it.
I also feel as though I was alive when it was occurring even though I was born the year the Berlin Wall came down. I feel like communism has a huge effect still on us today especially in a country where the economy is burning up in flames and communism country China is thriving. I also feel like I know much more about our history, the Cold War is a piece of American history and world history that school has never really covered and now I feel like I can update my friends on this missing piece.
I am still wondering about the people and the citizens of Berlin and the people who had to go through with communism in their native land. I know that thousands of people were killed trying to cross the was just to be out of communism control. I want to find personal stories and learn more about the people in those days. I would also like to know how the U.S.S.R. brought food into Berlin since the whole east part of the city was cut off. The people is the big issue though because I do not think I could live being completely cut off from the rest of the world. Berlin in the sixties through eighties was like North Korea today and I want to know how they felt and how bad that desire was to get out and see the rest of the world.
All of these are things that I have learned and wish to learn about the Berlin Wall and the Cold War. It is a big topic in our history and I feel like I must know more about it and also communism. I find everything so far very interesting and hope it gets better from here.
I also feel as though I was alive when it was occurring even though I was born the year the Berlin Wall came down. I feel like communism has a huge effect still on us today especially in a country where the economy is burning up in flames and communism country China is thriving. I also feel like I know much more about our history, the Cold War is a piece of American history and world history that school has never really covered and now I feel like I can update my friends on this missing piece.
I am still wondering about the people and the citizens of Berlin and the people who had to go through with communism in their native land. I know that thousands of people were killed trying to cross the was just to be out of communism control. I want to find personal stories and learn more about the people in those days. I would also like to know how the U.S.S.R. brought food into Berlin since the whole east part of the city was cut off. The people is the big issue though because I do not think I could live being completely cut off from the rest of the world. Berlin in the sixties through eighties was like North Korea today and I want to know how they felt and how bad that desire was to get out and see the rest of the world.
All of these are things that I have learned and wish to learn about the Berlin Wall and the Cold War. It is a big topic in our history and I feel like I must know more about it and also communism. I find everything so far very interesting and hope it gets better from here.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Questions
I have always wondered about the leader of the Soviet Union known as Joseph Stalin and what kind of person he was. I feel like I know nothing of him and just consider him a bad person since I know nothing good came out of the Soviet Union and it seemed all he caused was turmoil and discomfort.
"Joseph Stalin was born poor on December 21st 1879 in Gori, Georgia. His father was a shoemaker who died during Joseph’s childhood. Joseph’s mother was a religious woman and knew that the only future hope for her son was for him to become a priest."(Hopkinson) Becoming a priest was a convential occupation at the time that could help a person get out of poverty. Stalin was also very bright at a young age being able to write and speak very well which influenced him to join Russian socialist parties. Soon, Stalin was exiled from Russia into Serbia until he escaped and joined another socialist party led by Vladimir Lenin who gave Stalin a high rank. As World War I continued during this time, Russia was going under and in need of help and supplies, so Lenin stepped up along with Stalin. Soon, Stalin was getting higher and higher in power and had his men get rid of his once friends until he was in control of all of the U.S.S.R. "Stalin forced 'his' people to set up collective farms that were owned by the government. 5 million farmers were exiled because they were too wealthy, objected, or refused to farm collectively."(Simkin) Even though Stalin might of felt like he was doing good for his country, he was actually making it worse.
The Communist sense is that everyone helps everyone and there's no different economic standings. Raised as a poor peasant, Stalin must have hated the rich and desired all to be equal. Communism appeals to this and a desire for wealth and control pushed him to power. "Stalin did much to help Russia and the world in WWII but killed millions in pursuit of his ideas and dictatorship. To his calloused heart, "A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic.""(Simmonds)
Hopkinson, Christina. The Usborne History of ‘The Twentieth Century’, ed. Jane Chisholm. Tusla: EDC Publishing, 1993. Selected readings.
Simkin, John. “Joseph Stalin” Spartacus Educational. Accessed October 9, 2003
Simmonds, George W. “Joseph Stalin” Scholastic. Accessed October 9, 2003
"Joseph Stalin was born poor on December 21st 1879 in Gori, Georgia. His father was a shoemaker who died during Joseph’s childhood. Joseph’s mother was a religious woman and knew that the only future hope for her son was for him to become a priest."(Hopkinson) Becoming a priest was a convential occupation at the time that could help a person get out of poverty. Stalin was also very bright at a young age being able to write and speak very well which influenced him to join Russian socialist parties. Soon, Stalin was exiled from Russia into Serbia until he escaped and joined another socialist party led by Vladimir Lenin who gave Stalin a high rank. As World War I continued during this time, Russia was going under and in need of help and supplies, so Lenin stepped up along with Stalin. Soon, Stalin was getting higher and higher in power and had his men get rid of his once friends until he was in control of all of the U.S.S.R. "Stalin forced 'his' people to set up collective farms that were owned by the government. 5 million farmers were exiled because they were too wealthy, objected, or refused to farm collectively."(Simkin) Even though Stalin might of felt like he was doing good for his country, he was actually making it worse.
The Communist sense is that everyone helps everyone and there's no different economic standings. Raised as a poor peasant, Stalin must have hated the rich and desired all to be equal. Communism appeals to this and a desire for wealth and control pushed him to power. "Stalin did much to help Russia and the world in WWII but killed millions in pursuit of his ideas and dictatorship. To his calloused heart, "A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic.""(Simmonds)
Hopkinson, Christina. The Usborne History of ‘The Twentieth Century’, ed. Jane Chisholm. Tusla: EDC Publishing, 1993. Selected readings.
Simkin, John. “Joseph Stalin” Spartacus Educational. Accessed October 9, 2003
Simmonds, George W. “Joseph Stalin” Scholastic. Accessed October 9, 2003
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Takin' Down Surveys
In my survey, I the main question I asked was if communism has or is affecting your life in any way today. I really didn't know what to expect from the students at Roaring Fork and I expected older individuals to say yes on the topic since they were alive during the Cold War and Berlin Wall. Apparantely, I had the wrong allusion about some people, because the younger crowd said that communism does affect them today and I agree since China, an evergrowing country; is communist.
I actually found out a lot from this survey, I thought I was going to get very enthusiastic responses from my peers. It turned out I got better answers from the younger crowd and more banal responses from the older crowd. Race and gender was not a factor for this survey, mainly just age because people have new thoughts from the old. Altogether, I learned a lot about the students around me and what I thought as a more mature and optomistic crowd. I was shocked about how optomistic the younger crowd is and how they care about what's going on and learning from our history. I asked a question about communism and recieved totally different answers than I expected which I thought was very interesting and mind changing.
I actually found out a lot from this survey, I thought I was going to get very enthusiastic responses from my peers. It turned out I got better answers from the younger crowd and more banal responses from the older crowd. Race and gender was not a factor for this survey, mainly just age because people have new thoughts from the old. Altogether, I learned a lot about the students around me and what I thought as a more mature and optomistic crowd. I was shocked about how optomistic the younger crowd is and how they care about what's going on and learning from our history. I asked a question about communism and recieved totally different answers than I expected which I thought was very interesting and mind changing.
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