Berlin

Here is a fascinating article from the BBC about Berlin, to mark the 25th Anniversary of the wall coming down on 9 November 2014. It examines how Berlin has changed since then, becoming more united in many ways but still retaining some distinct differences between East and West. One of the most famous of these was taken by NASA, noting how West Berlin mainly has white streetlights, while East Berlin has retained its sodium yellow ones.

You may also enjoy these photographs taken on 9 November 1989, this attempt to retrace the route of the wall, this "secret history" of the Berlin Wall, and this article about the significance of Berlin in the Cold War, the last two both from "History Today".

Hitler's Rise to Power

Today is the 80th Anniversary of Hitler's appointment of Chancellor of Germany in 1933. President Hindenburg finally agreed to do so to resolve Germany's political and economic deadlock. It of course marked the beginning of the process which led to Hitler becoming absolute dictator and dismantling the democratic Weimar Republic. The photos above show Hitler acknowledging the crowd on that day and being photographed with his cabinet (Fellow Nazi Herman Göring is on the left of Hitler, and Vice Chancellor von Papen is on his right)

A series of events will take place across Germany to mark the anniversary, and Chancellor Angela Merkel will give a speech to open the "Road to Dictatorship" exhibition at the former SS Headquarters in Berlin. You can read more about what happened on 30 January 1933 here at the History Place website which is also quite handy for its coverage of American History. More GCSE focused work on Hitler's rise to power can be seen here (Spartacus) and here (John D Clare).

GCSE Revision Lists

GCSE Revision Lists have now been published on the History Dept Blog. Click here for a direct link. They are also available on Fronter. It will also tell you why this picture has been chosen for this post!