Last Friday evening, the Lower Sixth German students, along with Mrs Wilson and Miss Dunning, went to Taunton school to attend a lecture with the German historian and journalist Katja Hoyer as guest speaker. The talk was titled ‘East Germany: Beyond the Wall’ and was based on a book Katja had written and explored how the GDR emerged after World War Two, as well as the changing conditions for its people. She discussed both the negative and positive aspects of life in the GDR, concluding with the reunification of Germany in 1989. Katja proved an excellent speaker; Born in the late years of the GDR, she had a first-hand understanding of the topic and, as a historian, was very well informed about the history of East Germany. The talk was worth the visit, being highly relevant to the German A-Level course where one of the topics we study is on the GDR. It also provided valuable insight into current issues, especially after the German Election, helping us to understand why the AfD had gained so much support in East Germany.
Written by Casper (L6)
