The Berlin Wall: A World Divided Audiobook By Hope M. Harrison, The Great Courses cover art

The Berlin Wall: A World Divided

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The Berlin Wall: A World Divided

By: Hope M. Harrison, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Hope M. Harrison
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About this listen

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.

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About the Creator and Performer

Hope M. Harrison is Professor of History and International Affairs at The George Washington University and the author of two books on the Berlin Wall: Driving the Soviets up the Wall: Soviet-East German Relations, 1953-1961; and After the Berlin Wall: Memory and the Making of the New Germany, 1989 to the Present. The recipient of fellowships from Fulbright, the Nobel Institute in Oslo, the American Academy in Berlin, Harvard, and the Wilson Center, Dr. Harrison has published in The Washington Post, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and Berliner Zeitung. She serves on the board of three institutions connected to the Cold War and the Berlin Wall and has been featured widely in the media, including on CNN, the History Channel, and Deutschlandradio.

What listeners say about The Berlin Wall: A World Divided

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interesting read

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

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Wonderful introduction to a powerful symbol

Wonderful introduction to the rise, fall, and ongoing significance of the Berlin Wall. The author does a fantastic job of weaving micro and macro historical narratives together- focusing on stories of specific people and weaving them into the broader historical developments.

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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.

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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.

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Educational

Got a good history of the wall and it’s events. Usually history is dry. This was not. I enjoyed it.

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We'll worth the listen. Clear and precise account of all that the Berlin Wall was and stood for in the Cold War.

I really enjoyed this series of lectures on the Berlin wall and its role and what it symbolized during the years after WWII.

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Worth audible subscription!

This audio alone satisfies this month's subscription to audible. I generally get bored with history, but this course is so intriguing and mesmerizing. I highly recommend it

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Learn history that’s relevant to today

I was a young adult when the Berlin Wall fell, and paid attention to events. Yet I learned a lot listening to Harrison’s well-researched and well-told chronology. The individual stories kept it engaging.

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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.

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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.



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