Using Film in the Classroom/How to Read a Film

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 15.04.10

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Introduction
  2. Rationale
  3. A Brief History of Berlin and the DDR
  4. Life in the DDR
  5. Goodbye Lenin! - Analysis
  6. Notes
  7. Strategies
  8. Activities
  9. Annotated Bibliography

Life in the DDR through Film: German II

Arcadia Alice Teel

Published September 2015

Tools for this Unit:

Annotated Bibliography

Berhorst, Ralf. "Die Gewalt Der Neuen Herren." In Die DDR Alltag Im Arbeiter-und-

Bauern-Staat ; 1949 - 1990, 42-54. Vol. 64. Hamburg: Gruner Jahr, 2013. This article

gives readers an idea of just how brutal the new Soviet regime was and would be in East

Germany.

Botzenhardt, Tilman. "In Der Schuldenfalle." In Die DDR Alltag Im Arbeiter-und-

Bauern-Staat ; 1949 - 1990, 134-137. Vol. 64. Hamburg: Gruner Jahr, 2013. This article

paints a picture of just how desperate the DDR became in the years leading up to its

downfall.

Childs, David, and Richard J. Popplewell. The Stasi: The East German Intelligence and

Security Service. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan, 1996. This Stasi history is written in English and contains a very useful timeline of events at the back of the book.

"Die Berliner Mauer." - Berlin.de. Accessed July 31, 2015. http://www.berlin.de/mauer/index.de.html. This is a site with an unbelievable amount of information on the Berlin Wall.

Dugdale, Helen. 2003. Accessed July 31, 2015.

http://www.filmeducation.org/pdf/film/GoodbyeL.pdf.

This pdf file is full of questions to help get the discussions going about the film, the history, and the culture.

Frey, Mattias. Postwall German Cinema: History, Film History and Cinephilia. 1st ed.

New York: Berghahn Books, 2013. This contains the analysis of several different films in

postwall Germany and will be a good reference if I decide to show any of the other films

written about in the book. This helped me understand postwall German cinema in a more

cohesive manner.

Gieseke, Jens. Mielke-Konzern: Die Geschichte Der Stasi 1945-1990. Erw. Und Aktual.

Neuausgl. ed. Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 2006. This book was more for my

own enjoyment as I took a group of students to the Stasi Museum in Germany. It gives a

thorough history of the Stasi.

Goodbye Lenin! Performed by Katrin Sass, Daniel Brühl, Maria Simon, Chulpan

Khamatova, Florian Lukas. Germany, 2003. Film.

Schaper, Michael. GEO EPOCHE: Die DDR Alltag Im Arbeiter-und-Bauern-Staat ; 1949

- 1990. Hamburg: Gruner Jahr, 2013. This magazine contains many helpful dates and

photos, which I plan on sharing in class, of post-World War II Germany starting directly

after the war.

Scherzer, Philipp. Is German Film Moving towards a 'new Patriotism'? an Analysis of

Sönke Wortmann's The Miracle of Bern Based on the Prototype of the American Sports

Film of the 1980s. Hamburg: Diplomica Verlag, 2008. Although I didn't use this directly

while writing this particular unit, it contains useful information in case I decide to do a

unit like this using the film, Das Wunder von Bern.

"The Dark Secrets of a Surveillance State." Hubertus Knabe:. June, 2014. Accessed

July 31, 2015. [Video File]. Retrieved from

http://www.ted.com/talks/hubertus_knabe_the_dark_secrets_of_a_surveillance_state?lan

guage=en. I happened upon this quite by accident, but this would give students a great

synopsis of how and what the Stasi did.

Uibel, Sabine. 2013. Accessed July 31, 2015. http://www.goethe.de/mmo/priv/12392567-

STANDARD.pdf. This is a transcript of several scenes found in Goodbye Lenin!. I plan

on using some of the easier parts of the transcript for students to practice their

translation skills.

Wedel, Mathias, and Thomas Wieczorek. Mama, Was Ist Ein Wessi? Ein Dreh- Und

Wendebuch. 2. Aufl. ed. Berlin: Eulenspiegel, 2000. This book is useful for giving

comical insights into how the West Germans and East Germans viewed each other. It is

written in fairly easy German and quick to read. I plan on using this book throughout the

year in class.

Chicago formatting by BibMe.org.

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