Research of the RAF

CAUSES: The RAF believed that Germany's lawmakers were continuing authoritarian policies and was seen as a continuation of the indoctrination the Nazis had pioneered in society. The Federal Republic was exporting arms to African dictatorships, which was seen as supporting the war in southeast Asia.

GENERATIONS:
The first generation involved the student movement of 1968.
The second generation involved radicals such as Ulrike Meinhof and Andreas Baader.
The third generation was a group of young people who felt they could show their radical beliefs by commiting terrorist actions.

END OF THE RAF:
The last big action by the RAF took place on June 27, 1993, and a internal secret service agent infiltrated the group and arrested the leaders.

SIMILARITIES:

I believe the attacks by the RAF were not as severe as modern terrorists attacks, but the RAF targeted Germans, and todays terrorists target other countries.  Todays terrorists do not want their governments to change but they just want to target the worlds most powerful countries.

Response to Der Baader Meinhof Komplex

I thought this movie was very entertaining and showed us a dark historical time in Germany.  It was interesting to see how a group rebelling with violence and protests could become so popular.  The RAF group started out with only a few people leading the violence and led to over 7 million people supporting them in some way.  I was shocked to see how the protesting kept building up in intensity and how the govenment tried to deal with it.  In the movie the group started out small and was growing fast, but once the first members of the group got arrested other generations of the RAF started to take over.  The second generation members were even more violent than the first, and they did this all to try and show the German Government that things needed to change.  They realized they needed to act with violence because protests were not getting their point across.  The beginning of the movie was very confusing to me because the only knowledge I had of the movie was that it was about a terrorist group.  When the police officers started to beat the protestors with sticks, it didn't make much sense to me because the protestors were not being violent in any way.

19th Century inventions/inventors

Presentation can be found here.

Fine Arts of the 18th Century

Presentation can be found here.

Why the EU will continue to be a pivotal organization for Germany in the 21st century

1.  Germany gains more trading partners as more countries join the EU.

2.  Continues to eliminate high tax tariffs between countries.

3.  Germany will have a domestic market or more than 500 million people.

4.  As the EU gets larger Germany benefits more because it is the leading economic power.

5.  Will continue to show the world that Germany is no longer a threat to any peaceful nations.

6.  The Euro keeps European currenct strong.

7.  Many people are looking for jobs in Germany.

8. Germany's output will continue to rise as more workers find jobs in Germany.

18th Century German Rulers and Government

Presentation can be found here.

18th Century German Literature

Presentation can be found here.

18th century differences in gender roles

Men: The German men had important roles in society and were known as the main source of income for families.  They were able to get jobs and make all of the rules for their family.  They were responsible for making all of the final decisions in the family.  They were able to buy land and property because they were the ones who made all of the money.  They were able to vote during the elections while the women could not.  Men were the “stronger” sex – intelligent, courageous and determined. By nature, they were supposed to be aggressive, ruling over their wives and owning all property. Men were the primary wage earners and the public face of the family to the rest of the world. They had abilities that far exceeded those of women, and had the opportunity to better themselves by pursuing education, accessing professional fields, and becoming involved in political activity.

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Women: Were known as second class citizens and had few rights.  The women did not have very much control over anything except the children.  They normally stayed at home and worked on household chores because they were not able to get jobs.  Their main concern was in keeping the man of the household happy because women were seen more as tools rather than a human being.  They also were not able to fight in wars unless they worked as nurses but it would be rare for the women to be near the frontline.  Another popular job that women would have was prostitution which was one of the few ways a woman could earn an income.  Some women were able to continue to manage homes, farms and shops but others were unable to survive on their own and forced to abandon their homes and follow their husbands with the army. Women who traveled with the army were known as camp-followers and did so for many reasons: inability to provide for themselves at home; fear of attack; eviction by troops; desire to be with husbands; the attraction of a paying job and rations (even if their pay and rations were minimal), or in some cases as sutlers selling to the army. Well over 20,000 women followed one army or another and transformed camps into small towns. In some ways, women were an important element because they carried out tasks such as laundering and nursing (both of which were paid) which men were unwilling to do and without which the army would have been even more seriously depleted by disease. In addition, women performed duties as cooks, food foragers, spies and water carriers (all unpaid).

                                                                                                                                                                                    http://www.lib.niu.edu/1992/ihy9212121.jpg

Class activity Wed Oct 13 etc.

1.  Danielle Ostendorf
      Overall Appearance: 30/30-- Very well organized.
      Completeness: 20/20 -- All posts appear to be present.
      Writing: 20/20-- Tons of information.
      Images: 10/10-- Lots of photos spread throughout the blog.
      My Criteria: 20/20-- The easiest blog to look at and immediately become interested.

     Overall Score: 100/100

2. Kelsey Kubiak
     Overall Appearance: 30/30-- pretty easy to look at.
     Completeness: 20/20-- All blog posts are present.
     Writing: 20/20-- Tons of information!
     Images: 8/10-- very good use of pictures, but some posts didnt have pictures.
     My Criteria: 18/20-- Very organized blog, but some posts had a little too much writing and not enough pictures to keep the readers interested.

     Overall score: 96/100

3. Alexia Ball
     Overall Appearance: 30/30-- Very well organized.
     Completeness: 20/20-- All items Present.
     Writing: 20/20-- Tons of information!
     Images:  6/10-- The beginning posts had few pictures.
     My Criteria: 17/20-- The blog could have benefited by providing more pictures to keep things interesting.
   
     Overall Score: 93/100

Class discussion about All Quiet of the Western Front

During class on Wednesday we reviewed the book, ALL Quiet on the Western Front.  We reviewed topics such as how Himmelstoss gained power, how identity is gained and lost, and the authors success of the book. 
Corporal Himmelstoss was a postman before the war, and he did not have any power and his job required him little intellectual knowledge because all he had to do was find an address and give them the mail.  He used the military to gain power, and he let all the new recruits know that he was superior by humiliating them.

Many of the soldiers during the war lost their identity because the military changed their view of the world.  The war scarred everybody fighting and Paul's entire generation lost their identity.  Many people became adrenaline junkies and the civilian life wasn't suitable for them anymore.

The authors success of the book is based on how Remarque told the story of the war.  He showed how brutal the war really was, and thats why so many people bought the book.  The book was in such high demand that production of the book could hardly keep up.  The original book was translated to other major languages such as english and french and millions of copies were sold.

When i wrote my review of the book I talked about how Paul and his friends were influenced by their teacher to join the military. Then after the first time they went to the frontline they went in with 150 men and only came back with 80.  Then I talked about how Paul's friend got shot in the thigh and had his leg amputated so Paul's other friend wanted to take his boots.  Then i talked about how they went to the frontline to set up a barbed wire fence and how Kat always can tell when a shelling of an area will occur and sure enough the bombing begins.

First 15 competition questions TEAM 1

Q1: What are the two restaurants/bars in Germany where you can dine completely in the dark?
A: Unsicht-Bar in Berlin, Cologne, and Hamburg. Nocti Vagus in Berlin.

Q2: Germany is the second most populous country in Europe. Which is the first?
A: Russia.

Q3: On Saturday, September 25th, Munich will be hosting a pop sensation. Who is it? Where are they from?

A: Kate Nash, Britain.

Q4:  What German ruler backed Martin Luther from very early on, and ensured his safety after he was declare an outlaw?

A: The Duke of Saxony.

Q5: What German state rapidly rose to a first-class military power between 1670 and 1740?

A: Prussia.

Q6: Who is this?

A: Richard Wagner.

Q7: Who is this?

A: Franka Potenta.

Q8: What was the name of the movie where German actress Angelica Domroese plays the sister of a man named Jens?

A: Die Legende von Paul und Paula

Q9: These three men founded a video game company located in Germany; what is the name of their company and who are they?

A: The company's name is Crytek, and the names are Cevat, Avni, and Faruk Yerli.

Q10: Who spoke at the Ingolstaedter Muenster church in Ingolstadt, Germany on 24.4.10.?

A: Chancellor Angela Merkel and Defense Minister Karl-Theodorezu Guttenberg, in a service for four soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

Q11: Why were King Ludwig the Second's castles opened up for tourism shortly after his death?

A: To pay for the cost of building them.

Q12: Which of King Ludwig the Second's castles in Bavaria was the only one to be finished before his death?

A: Linderhof.

Q13: What is the oldest flowering plan in Germany?

A: A rose bush at St. Mary's Cathedral in Hildeshein.

Q14: What are the 7 inhabited Frisian Islands?

A: Borkum, Juist, Norderney, Baltrum, Langeook, Spiekeroog, Wangerooge.

Q15. This character from the Shrek movies is based off lore from Lower Saxony.

A: The Pied Piper.

German Print Media Reviewed

The newspapers in German look almost identical to the newspapers in America.  The layout of the paper is the same because newspapers were made in the US and the Germans used the same layout for their newspapers.  Both newspapers contain many ads and there is hardly any unused space because each margin is small.  Also German newspapers are more straight forward with what they want to say.  They don't try to censor anything because they do not see a point to trying to cover up and mask what they intend to say.

The Black Forest- Schwarzwald

by Kelsey Kubiak, David Grow, and Patrick Donohue

The Forest 

The Schwartzwald, or Black Forest as it is known in English, is located in the state of Baden-Württemburg. The highest peak in the Black Forest is the Feldberg, at 1,493 meters. It has a length of 200km and width of 60km, making it nearly 12,000 km squared. The Romans originally named the mountains there Silva Negra (black forest), because the trees were so thick they blocked out most of the light in the forest. According to “About-Germany.com”, the Black Forest is known for three things:  the landscape, the cuckoo clock, and the Black Forest Gateau, also known as the Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte. The Black Forest was also the inspiration for many of the tales of the Brothers Grimm.
Source
Picture Source 

Black Forest Gateau, or Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte

The Black Forest Gateau is one of the most recognizable desserts from the Black Forest. It is a decadant chocolate cake made with cherries, whipped cream, chocolate shavings, and the local specialty liquor, Schwartzwälder Kirschwasser. The area is known in part for its sour cherries, which, in addition to the liquor, give the cake its signature kick. In 1949 it took 13^th as the best-known German Cakes. The definitive origin of the cake is unknown, but it is thought to have been invented by Josef Keller in 1915. This original recipe now lies with the son of a family friend, Claus Schaefer, the current head chef of Konditori Schaefer, where he continues to make the original.
Source
Picture Source 

Influence on the Brothers Grimm 

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were two famous German novelists that began writing fairytale stories in 1807. The Black Forest was a major influence on the Brothers Grimm when they wrote some of their darkest fairy tales.  One of the most famous stories that the Brothers Grimm wrote was the tale of Hansel and Gretel.  Hansel and Gretel live in a woodshop on the edge of a great forest, and during the story they get lost in the Black Forest and must try and escape a witch.  Another famous fairytale that takes place in the Black Forest is Little Red Cap.  In this story a little girl is delivering a piece of cake and a bottle of wine to her sick Grandmother.  Along her way she meets a wolf who ends up eating her Grandmother and dressing up in the Grandmother’s clothes in an attempt to eat Little Red Cap too.  From these two tales; the Brothers Grimm tried to make the Black Forest seem mysterious and dangerous by writing tales that some people back in the 1800’s actually believed.  They would get stories from peasants and farmers but the brothers would make the stories happier by including childlike story lines. The first two editions they wrote called, Deutsche Sagen, contained over 585 different legends.
Source One
Source Two 
Brothers Grimm Picture
Little Red Riding Hood Picture 

The Cuckoo Clock

Who Made It?

 Since the 18^th century, people have argued about where the first cuckoo clock was derived from.  Books were written about it and 3 main people stand out in the invention of the cuckoo clock.      In 1796 a man named Father Franz Steyrer wrote a book on how he had passed a clock peddler by a town in black forest who sold some clocks to a bohemian merchant.  This man then examined the clocks and made replicas of his own to sell.  But later around 1927 another man wrote a book about this by the name of Adolf Kistner, he states that no bohemians had a hand in making the cuckoo clocks because Bohemia had no clock making businesses during that time period.  To this day it’s not clear who created the first one and there are no traces of where the first production line of cuckoo clocks came from.  Franken-Niederbayern in East Germany is the most likely spot near the Bohemia incident.  However the Cuckoo clock became famous because the black forest people eventually developed a cuckoo clock industry where they would create new designs, improve and redesign parts of the clock, and make it technically more reliable.

Cuckoo Clock Features, Different Styles and Models

Schilduhr 18^th Century -This is the earliest cuckoo clock design, usually given as a wedding gift with the groom and brides names painted or engraved on it. No fancy wood carvings, just paint on a flat two dimensional surface. Also this model had no cabinet to box in the internal clock work.  This type of clock was not mass produced and was made in small quantities that would be sold by door to door clock makers. 
Schilduhr Picture 

Rahmenuhr early 19^th Century -Known as the framed clock, these were also scarce but easier to mass produce thanks to the invention of lithography which was sort of like etching.  This made it easier to create the same exact image in mass quantities.  The pictures on this model of clock were more detailed than the previous version and would feature outdoor scenery, portraits of people, mythology, and religious images.  The cuckoo bird would then blend into the scene somehow and jump out of the picture chirp to the hour of the day. 
Rahmenuhr Pictures 

The Bahnhäusle mid 1800’s- This design was inspired by Friedrich Eisenlohr, an architect who is famous for constructing buildings along the Badenian Rhine valley railroad.  This had flat cut outs of vines, leaves and other foliage surrounding the clockwork, later a newer version had spun off this almost identical.  It was called the Jagdstück, which featured even more detail an attention towards the outdoors.  Many times there would be scenes of hunting and animals
Bahnhaeusle Pictures 

Weltgrösste Kuckucksuhr - This gift store is actually a 50:1 scale of a normal cuckoo clock. It’s one of the largest attractions in Wiesbaden and is the most photographed stores in Europe.  Every cuckoo clock made here is hand made to the smallest detail, every shingle is hand cut and every wood carving is made individually with no two alike. 
Weltgroesste Outside
Weltgroesste Inside  

My observations about the top 20 Radio stations in Germany

German music is just like any other nation's music. It contains its own uniqueness yet it still has some similarities to other foreign styles of music.  The top 20 radio stations from Germany are very unique from the music that I hear everyday.  The first station i listened to was BlackBeats.FM which was a hip-hop and rap style of music.  This station sounds similar to some hip-hop music you hear everyday that sound very American-like.  Many of these stations you can relate to some stations that you would hear on the radio in the United States. Even some of the stations are playing some music of American artists which shows that German music and American music styles are very similar, and people from Germany enjoy listening to some American music.

List of Berlin Topics

1.  Reichstag
2.  Sports
3.  Brandenburg Gate
4.  Berlin Nightlife
5.  Museum Island
6.  Berlin Buildings
7.  Berlin Structures
8.  Luebeck, Germany
9.  U-Bahn/S-Bahn
10.  Berlin During WWII
11.  Berlin After WWII
12.  Berlin- Music/Art/Literature
13.  Berlin in the 1920's

Berlin - today and in the past

Berlin In The Past and Today

Berlin Music Today vs Berlin Music in the Past

• MUSIC IN THE PAST

http://img.youtube.com/vi/hL90UpbOsrA/0.jpg

9/7/2010

Music in Berlin during the 1700's used to be much different than what it is today. around the 1700 a new king came around to rule by
the name of Frederick I. With his strong focus on military there wasn't that much money to be put towards entertainment and music. the music events played at the court could only be done on rare occasions such as on holidays or during lent. They also played during special ceremonies like in the presence of the kings mother..


Eventually music came back around and exploded into the scene again during the 18th century. This time was known as the "golden age" because of the huge uproar in music making for Berlin. Most credit for the big comeback in music goes to a new ruler after Frederick I named Frederick II. Back at his hometown he formed a group of musicians to come play in Berlin, this consisted of Carl Heinrich, Johann Gottlieb Graun, Franz and Johann Benda, Christoph Schaffrath, and Johann Gottlieb Janitsch. This turned out to be a great decision as it soon became one of the most successful Kapelles in Europe. Frederick II was also talented in music himself, would compose music and skillfully play the flute. In 1740 Frederick employed Johann Joachim Quantz, a very talented flutist along with 50 other musicians.

Stadtschloss

http://news.beloblog.com/ProJo_Blogs/architecturehereandthere/stadtschloss.png

9/7/2010

Music today


Even though today music has changed so much compared to the days back then, Berlin still has opera houses around that still have classical music being played in them. Deutsche Opera, Berlin State Opera, and the Komische Oper are a few buildings still in use today for music.

Technology today has changed a lot since the 1700’s and thus musicians have taken advantage of it, especially the people in Germany. Berlin has a school that is known for having developed an electronic style of music. This is made up of electronic preloaded sounds on computers such as synthesizers, electronic drum beats, ambient noises, and occasional electric guitar riffs. Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream and Ashra are a few artists that made it big in Berlin playing this type of music. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZt64_XOflk

The length of 1700’s classical music was insanely long compared to what we are used to. Some songs could last 15mins or more. This new age music that was developed in the 1970’s had that same thing in common with it, true vintage Berlin old school songs would sometimes last 20-30mins. This became a problem for most artists since they would want some songs to be continuous for 80mins. That wasn’t possible since everyone recorded on vinyl but once the compact disk came about they were able to change their style of music even further. Berlin has made a huge name for itself in the genre of Elecronica/Techno and New Age music.

http://therisingstorm.net/audio/tangerinedream.jpg
9/7/2010

Literature

http://www.geneall.net/img/pessoas/pes_1011542.jpg


In the 20's. A German novelist Erich Maria Remarque wrote the book All Quiet on the Western Front in 1929. The novel was about a young soldier who was 19 years old named, Paul Bäumer, who was a German soldier fighting on the French frontline. This book has become one of the most widely known novels in the world with over one million copies being sold in 1929. The nazis thought this book gave the first World War a bad image on the Germans so they ordered all copies of the book to be burned. During this time Remarque also lost his German citizenship and the book was translated into 20 different languages around the world.

http://akac.bookarmy.com/Gallery/Herta_Muller.jpg


Today


Herta Muller was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 2009. The latest book she wrote was called Everything I Possess I Carry With Me which was written in 2009. The novel is about the difficult life of a Romanian-German poet named,Oskar Pastior. Herta Muller was born in Romania but she was kicked out in 1987 because she did not agree with the governments rules. Since then she has lived in Berlin where she continues to write about literature involving serious topics such as the way Romanian-German immigrants were treated. She is known for having a strong way of using words to tell her stories and sending a powerful message.

Art


In the 20's


George Grosz was a famous painter, music artist, and writer who was born in Berlin in 1893. He painted his most famous artworks, Lovesick and Suicide in 1916. He was a rebellious artist who liked to draw pictures of images that would cause scandals about the government. He began writing music in in 1921 when he wrote the song, God With Us. He got into trouble with the government with this song because he was said to be defaming the army. He also started up a magazine called "Die Pleite" in 1919.


 

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/11/27/arts/Bode1650.jpg

Today


Berlin is one of the best places in the world to live in if you are an artist. Berlin contains over 170 museums and art galleries. The ensemble on the Museum Island is one of the sites found on the World Heritage Site. Berlin is also the home to 50 theaters, the most famous is the Deutsches Theater which has been used continuously since 1849 excluding a 1 year break during WWII. There are three major opera houses in Berlin, the oldest opera house, Berlin State Opera, which was opened in 1792.

 http://www.shmoop.com/all-quiet-on-western-front/


http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/allquiet/facts.html


http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Erich_Maria_Remarque.aspx


http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2009/bio-bibl.html#


http://www.new-books-in-german.com/english/496/242/242/129002/design1.html


http://www.abcgallery.com/G/grosz/groszbio.html

The Aachen Cathedral

The Aachen Cathedral


The Aachen Cathedral, or The Imperial Cathedral was built in 805 A.D. by Charlemagne. Charlemagne had kept many different types of relics within the Cathedral such as: The cloak of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the ragged clothes of the infant Jesus, and the loin cloth worn by Jesus on the cross. During the middle ages, many pilgrims would travel to this cathedral in order to see these relics. Charlemagne proposed that the relics would only be shown every seven years, and this custom is still in effect today. When Charlemagne died in the year 814, he was buried in the chapel's choir. His body was preserved very well and when his vault was reopened it was said that he was seated on a marble throne wearing robes, and he had a gospel opened on his lap and a sceptar in his hand.

The structure of the building was made in a octagon style golden mosaics pictures of God and twenty-four ancients surrounding him. The choir in this cathedral was remade in the year 1414 and was turned into a gothic style of a choir which was popular in this era. Gothic architeture had been evolved from the Romanesque buildings. Gothic architecture had a uniqueness to the buildings, they were different because the buildings had pointed arches on the sides of the buildings. Gothic buildings were also extremely tall and pointed, but they were made proportional to the size of the building. The Aachen Cathedral was one of the first 12 sites to be listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1978. It was added because of the history of the cathedral and the unique relics contained in the cathedral.

The 16 German States

Lower Saxony- Automobile manufacuring is well known here, with over 50 million volkeswagon beetles being made here.

Schleswig-Holstein- Flounder is one of the main fish that are caught in Schleswig-Holstein.

Baden-Württemberg- Is the most high tech area in all of Europe. It is also famous for all of the inventio\rs that were born here.

Saarland- Saarland is influenced greatly by the French cuisine.  Mussels are a common food eaten in this area.

Rhineland-Pfalz- Produces two thirds of the countries total wine producing industry.

Thuringia- Is the birthplace of a famous glass blower named, Wolfgang Meusel.

Sachsen- The culture of the people is highly influenced by music.  The Thomaner Choir is located in leipzig and is almost 800 years old.

Bayern- Oktoberfest and the view of the Alps draw more tourism than any other state in Germany.

Saxony-Anholt- Is where the most automated industry is.  Places that used many workers have been replaced by machines that do the same work.

Berlin- Within the city of Berlin there are 20 colleges and over 150 theatres.

Brandenburg- In Brandenburg you can find many unique archictecural builgings such as the Hohenzollern castle and the Sanssouci Castle.

Hessen- Within Hessen lies the city of Frankfurt, which contains the highest buildings, the largest airport, and the most banks in all of continental Europe.

Nordrhein-Westfalen- Working with steel is very common for people working in this state.

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern- This state's main sources of income come from farming, live stock breeding, and tourism.

Hamburg- In the Port of Hamburg there is a famous warehouse owned by the Cotterell Company, and they are known for importing cocoa from other countries.

Bremen- Is the smallest state in Germany and the port accounts for every third job.

How the Berlin Wall was used to seperate East and West Berlin

The Building of the Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was built to try and contain over 17 million East Berliners, and stop them from fleeing to West Berlin.  Before the Wall was built there were over three million people that had fled to Western Berlin in search of jobs and a better life.  The Russian government knew they would have to do something in order to stop people from moving across the border.  The solution was to build a wall that would cover over 90 miles of land in attempt to surround the city.  The building of the Berlin Wall took place on August 13, 1961 when a wall of barbwire fences and guard towers were erected overnight.  The first concrete portion of the wall was built on August 17 along with mine fields and other obstacles to prevent anybody from crossing over to West Berlin.  In attempt to improve the security of the Berlin wall, Russian President Gorbachev demanded there be a 100 meter area leading up to the wall.  This open area was called The Death Strip because it was impossible to get through undetected. The wall was getting improved on constantly; between 1975-1980 a fourth generation of the wall was built and other features were built such as electrified fences antivehicle devices and bunkers.  Guards that patrolled the wall were ordered to shoot people trying to escape.

 http://www.berlin-life.com/berlin/wall

Reasons for escaping to East Berlin

People tried getting to West Berlin because life was much easier than trying to live under a Communist government.  The West had financial aid from the United States to help rebuild after WWII while the East was forced to live under harsch communist conditions. Since over 3 million people had fled to West Berlin it was difficult for the East to keep up with technology.  The West had lost some of its best workers and engineers and the Eastern Berliners became over 30 years behind in technology and living standards than the West.  Another reason for fleeing East Berlin was because of the currency differences.  West Berliners were getting four times as much money as the East.  West Berliners would cross the border because they could purchase food for a much lower price than they could in West Berlin.

http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1867.html

How People Tried Escaping the Wall

A year after WWII the Soviets started to force people into buying 30 day interzone passes to travel to and from East and West Berlin. Even though people needed these to travel back and fourth, some refused to buy them and would resort to other ill ways of getting through.  A few examples of this would be, escaping by tunnels, climbing over the wall, or by escaping by flight.
Tunnels were very successful for people trying to escape.  They were known to be dug in grave yards and people's homes.  In one case, people had went to a grave yard and pretended to have a funeral, then when they would lower the body down into the pit, the "dead" person would get out of the coffin and drawl down the tunnel to the other side.
Climbing over the wall seemed like it would be a lot more risky for a person to be caught, it wasn't nearly as sneaky as digging a tunnel where nobody could see you.  Most people would wait until night when it was more difficult to see what was going on. One successful story of climbing over the wall involved a chair lift and a rope attached to a hammer. The family that did this crawled onto the roof of a nearby building.  They then tied one end of the rope to the building they were on, and the other end to the hammer.  The next step would be to throw the hammer across the wall and hook it onto another building.  Once that was done they ysed the chair lift to glide across the rope with.
One of the most well-known escape stories was actually an ascape by flight.  Two families had come up with and idea that they should make a hot air balloon to float over the wall with.  They would construct a metal endlosure to use as a basket for standing in, and install railings to keep from falling out.  Attached to that was a variety of fabrics stitched together.  Those were used as a balloon that would be inflated by some gas burners from their home. The first effort at trying to get the balloon airbourne failed due to forceful winds, but the second attempt was a success.  They reached a surprising height of 2,400 meters, at that height it was probably hard or close to impossible for guards to spot them.
Over 5000 people escaped the wall without being caught, and around 3,200 were arrested, so you'd think there would be a pretty good amount of deaths.  In fact, 160 people were killed and around 120 were injured trying to escape.

Fall of the Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall officially fell on November 9, 1989 when thousands of people crowded around the wall demanding that the border crossings be opened.  People began cheering as the borders were opened and the bulldozers started dismantling the wall. East Berlin citizens were finally allowed to cross the border but they had a strict visa that would limit the time spent in West Berlin.  West Berliners also had strict visas in order to cross into East Berlin territory.  The Demolition of the wall was officially ended on October 3, 1990. The destroying of the wall was the beginning steps in the reunification of Germany.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/highlights/010815_berlinwall.shtml

World Heritage List

Aachen Cathedral
Maulbronn Monastery Complex
Cologne Cathedral
Messel pit fossil site
Upper Middle Rhine Valley