The Berlin Wall: A World Divided

By: Hope M. Harrison, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Hope M. Harrison

The Berlin Wall is perhaps modern history’s most infamous edifice.

For 28 years, it divided postwar Germany into communist-controlled east and democratic west. Then, in 1989, it collapsed - transforming a symbol of communist oppression into a potent emblem of freedom.

Why, and how, was the Berlin Wall constructed? How did Germans adapt to its presence or try to escape it? What political and social forces were responsible for its destruction? What still remains of the Berlin Wall, and how do today’s Germans grapple with its legacy?

The Berlin Wall: A World Divided is more than just the story of brick, concrete, and barbed wire. It’s the story of a city, a country, and a world - all of them divided. To hear how the Berlin Wall exemplified this division is to gain insights into a central tension of world history: between the human drive for freedom and the political will that would control and repress that drive. Drawing on years of research using former top-secret communist archives, Hope M. Harrison has crafted a riveting Audible Original that brings to life the political, social, and cultural history of the Berlin Wall. She shares the story of the millions of people who lived in its real shadow - and still live in its figurative one.

©2021 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC.

Great Historical Summary About the Wall

There is so little offered by Audible about the old Warsaw Pact countries, and E Germany and the Stasi especially. I appreciated the personal stories intertwined with the historical narrative. My one criticism would be the closing the statements. The professor advocates open borders and the criticism of those opposed to open borders as racist or xenophobic. Comparing modern opposition to unlimited refugee admissions from the Middle East is not the same.

I was alive when it fell but

I knew so very little about how, when and why it was built. this is all the more embarrassing where the cold war was central to my graduate studies. she argues in the last chapter that the Berlin wall has great relevance to us today. I quite agree. reading this book is a worthy undertaking well worth your time.

An excellent course on German history

The title of this course is somewhat misleading, as it is so much more! This is a well structured, concise and captivating journey through the history of Germany, from the end of the second world war to the present.

As a German immigrant living in Berlin I find this very useful. It's given me colour to fill in all the lines around me.

comprehensive and direct

real stories and a streamlined story. this book gives you a good gaze into east and west Germany from its conception, through the wall building, life and fall.

interesting read

seems like "ancient" history but it is not at all. very good deep dive into a defining moment in world history