Lesson Plan: Activism and Repression in 1980s East Germany

Subjects:

English Language Arts, World History, Geography

• ELA Unit/Topic: Rhetoric, Media Literacy, and The Power of Language

• This lesson focuses on rhetorical analysis and informational texts, where students examine how institutions use diction, tone and labeling to influence audience perception and construct meaning.

• World History Unit/Topic: The Cold War, Totalitarianism, and Resistance Movements

  • This lesson fits within a Cold War or Modern European History unit, with a focus on the German Democratic Republic, exploring how governments control information and how citizens resist through alternative forms of communication.

• Geography: Political geography, migration, human rights

Grade Level:

9-12

Lesson Duration:

Two 40-55 minute class periods

• Day 1: Steps 1-7

• Day 2: Steps 8-10

Essential Questions:

• How do governments and citizens use language to shape public perception of reality?

• In what ways can access to information influence power and resistance?

• To what extent can individuals challenge authority in restrictive political systems?

Lesson Objectives:

Students will:

• Analyze how diction influences tone and perspective in historical documents.

• Evaluate competing narratives presented by government and activist sources.

• Compare methods of communication used by state authorities and grassroots activists.

• Interpret how access to information impacts public understanding and power structures.

• Construct an argument explaining how language and medium shape perception.

Materials:

• Retro Report video “How an East Berlin Teenager Defied Cold War Authorities” (Transcript)

• Student Activity handout

• Stasi Report on the Size and Structure of the East German Opposition (June 1, 1989) | German History in Documents and Images

• Bitter News from Bitterfeld | Suppressed, Blackmailed, Spied on: Environmental Initiatives in the SED State (1995) | German History in Documents and Images

Key Vocabulary:

• Totalitarianism: A system of government where the state seeks to control nearly all aspects of public and private life.

• State-Controlled Information: When a government controls what information people can access, often through censorship, propaganda, or restricted media.

• Censorship: The suppression or restriction of information, ideas or speech by the authorities.

• Stasi: The secret police of East Germany, responsible for surveillance, spying and stopping opposition.

• Surveillance: Close monitoring of people’s activities, often by agents of a government.

• Subversive: Actions or ideas intended to weaken or overthrow authority; a term often used by governments to label critics as dangerous.

• Activism: Efforts by individuals or groups to bring about social or political change.

• Underground Communication: Secret or hidden ways of sharing information outside government control (e.g., smuggling texts, covert meetings).

• Mimeograph: A duplicating machine used to make copies of documents, widely used before modern printers.

• Diction: The specific word choices used in a text, which shape tone and influence how readers perceive ideas.

Procedure:

1. Opening Reflection: Direct students to the “Reflect” section of the Activity handout. Say: “Today we’re exploring what it means to speak out when it’s dangerous to do so. Think about how you would respond in that situation.” Instruct students to independently write responses to all reflection questions (3–5 minutes).

2. After writing, ask the class: “What methods did you come up with for sharing your message?” and “How might fear or risk change how people communicate?” Consider recording a few student ideas on the board (e.g., secrecy, symbols, social networks).

3. Guided Instruction: Have students watch the Retro Report video “How an East Berlin Teenager Defied Cold War Authorities” and answer the related questions. This can be done as a whole class, individually on computers, or using a platform such as EdPuzzle.

   1. What specific environmental concerns was Tim Eisenlohr passionate about?

   2. How did the Environmental Library help citizens bypass government control of information?

   3. How did the environmental library act as a form of activism? (List at least two actions.)

   4. According to the video, what was the Stasi’s primary method of monitoring opposition groups like the Environmental Library?

   5. What was the outcome for the Environmental Library after the November 1987 raid?

4. As a class, review responses.

   1. Follow-up questions may include: Eisenlohr mentions that today’s activists often feel there is “no feedback” for their work, whereas he saw immediate results. Do you agree with Tim that it is harder to see the results of activism today? Why or why not?

5. Document Analysis: Stasi Report (Document 1): Instruct students to read Document 1 independently. To increase accessibility, you may read the documents aloud while students follow along and annotate. Pause periodically to clarify vocabulary and ask quick comprehension checks. Another option would be to use a digital read-aloud tool so students can hear and see the text simultaneously.

   1. Optional: Instruct students to highlight words and phrases that are used to describe activists (For example: “enemy,” “subversive,” “hostile”) as they read.

   2. Guide students through the first question together: Ask: “What words stand out? What do they suggest?”

   3. Students should then complete the remaining questions individually or in pairs.

   4. Circulate to support students and prompt deeper thinking with questions such as: “Why would the government choose this language?” “What image are they trying to create?”

   5. Review answers as a class, emphasizing use of negative labels (enemy, hostile, subversive); framing activists as dangerous and unstable.

6. Document Analysis: Activist Perspective (Document 2): Instruct students to read Document 2 independently or read aloud and have them follow along.

   1. Optional: Have students highlight descriptions of environmental conditions and methods of activism. Model one example: Point out a phrase like “horrendous proportions” and ask: “What kind of reaction does this create?”

   2. Students should complete the guiding questions independently or in pairs.

   3. Circulate to support students and prompt deeper thinking with questions such as: “How are activists communicating without direct confrontation?” “Why are churches important here?”

   4. Review key takeaways via student responses: Emotional and vivid language; Creative communication methods (symbols, bicycles, mimeographs); Importance of access to information.

7. Further Scaffolding: Provide these additional guiding questions to support comprehension as students read each document:

   1. For Document 1 (Stasi Report): What is the main idea of this paragraph in your own words? Who is being described, and how are they being labeled? What does the government want the reader to believe about these people? Which words feel especially strong or negative? Why might those be used?

   2. For Document 2 (Activist Text): What environmental problem is being described in this section? How does the author want the reader to feel? What actions are people taking to respond to these problems? Why might these actions need to be done quietly or indirectly?

   3. You may also break each document into smaller sections and have students process one chunk at a time. Divide each document into 3–5 manageable chunks. After each chunk, ask students to: Write a 1–2 sentence summary in the margin or on their sheet. Identify one  word or phrase that stands out. Alternatively, you may provide students with pre-written summaries for each chunk and ask them to match the summary to the correct section or expand on the summary with one piece of textual evidence.

8. Comparative Discussion: Bring the class together for discussion. Ask students to compare both documents: Which source seems more trustworthy? Why? How does each side construct a different version of reality? How does access to information affect power?

   1. Encourage students to reference specific evidence. Optional: Create a T-Chart on the board: Government Language vs. Activist Language

9. Synthesis Writing Task: Introduce the final task by stating: “Now you will write a response explaining how both sides used language and communication methods to shape public perception.” Review requirements: Must include at least 2 quotes from each document. Must address diction (word choice) and medium (communication methods).

   1. Allow students to write independently.

   2. Circulate to support and check for: Use of evidence, Clear comparison between sources.

   3. Provide sentence frames, as needed. Some examples include: “The government portrays activists as… In contrast, activists describe…” “The government says ‘___,’ which means… This shows that the government thinks…” “The activists say ‘___,’ which shows… This is important because…”

10. Closure: Ask students to respond verbally or in writing: “Whose version of reality was more powerful? Why?”

    1. Reinforce key takeaway: Control of language and information is a powerful tool in shaping how people understand the world.

Extension Activities:

1. Creative Extension: Students “Design a Resistance Campaign” by choosing a modern or historical issue and creating a communication strategy under restriction, including: Medium (social media, symbols, underground press, etc.), Messaging choices (tone, diction), Risk analysis.

2. Comparative Extension: Compare activism in 1980s East Germany to modern movements (e.g., environmental or digital activism) by writing or creating a presentation that covers the following: Choose one modern activist movement. Provide specific examples of how these movements were similar and how they were different. Answer: Is activism easier or harder today? Why or why not?

About the Author:

Lauren Sanders has taught AP Seminar, AP Research and English in Florida since 2017.

Standards

Common Core Literacy Standards

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.2: Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.3: Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.6: Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.8: Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.6: Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies

• D2.His.1.9-12. Evaluate how historical events and developments were shaped by unique circumstances of time and place as well as broader historical contexts.

• D2.His.4.9-12. Analyze complex and interacting factors that influenced the perspectives of people during different historical eras.

• D2.His.5.9-12. Analyze how historical contexts shaped and continue to shape people’s perspectives.

• D2.His.11.9-12. Critique the usefulness of historical sources for a specific historical inquiry based on their maker, date, place of origin, intended audience, and purpose.

• D2.His.14.9-12. Analyze multiple and complex causes and effects of events in the past.

• D2.His.16.9-12. Integrate evidence from multiple relevant historical sources and interpretations into a reasoned argument about the past

• D2.Civ.2.9-12. Analyze the role of citizens in the U.S. political system, with attention to various theories of democracy, changes in Americans’ participation over time, and alternative models from other countries, past and present.

• D2.Civ.10.9-12. Analyze the impact and the appropriate roles of personal interests and perspectives on the application of civic virtues, democratic principles, constitutional rights, and human rights.

• D2.Civ.14.9-12. Analyze historical, contemporary, and emerging means of changing societies, promoting the common good, and protecting rights.