B2-84 · Imagine how the past could have been different
Divided Germany
Use Konjunktiv II of the past, with and without wenn, to imagine a different history of the GDR, the Wall and the Stasi.
About 5 minutes to read · 12 quiz questions
01
Was wäre gewesen, wenn …?
To imagine a different past, use Konjunktiv II of the past in both clauses: hätte or wäre plus the participle. Was wäre gewesen, wenn die Mauer nicht gefallen wäre? The condition did not happen; we only imagine it. In 1949 two German states were founded: the Federal Republic in the west and the GDR in the east.
Was wäre gewesen, wenn die Mauer nicht gefallen wäre?
What would have happened if the Wall had not fallen?
Wenn die Grenze offen gewesen wäre, hätten wir unsere Verwandten öfter besucht.
If the border had been open, we would have visited our relatives more often.
Wenn meine Tante nicht ausgereist wäre, hätte sie ihre Schwester öfter gesehen.
If my aunt had not left the country, she would have seen her sister more often.
Wenn mein Onkel die Regierung nicht kritisiert hätte, hätte die Stasi ihn nicht beobachtet.
If my uncle had not criticised the government, the Stasi would not have watched him.
Die DDR is the GDR, die Mauer the Wall and die Grenze the border. Ausreisen means to leave a country; in the GDR, an Ausreise usually meant leaving for good. In the wenn clause the finite verb comes last: wenn die Grenze offen gewesen wäre.
02
hätte or wäre?
Choose the auxiliary as in the Perfekt. Verbs of movement and change, as well as sein and bleiben, take wäre; most other verbs take hätte. The Wall was built in 1961 and fell on 9 November 1989.
| Meaning | Infinitive | Konjunktiv II past |
|---|---|---|
| to stay | bleiben | wäre geblieben |
| to travel | reisen | wäre gereist |
| to be | sein | wäre gewesen |
| to wait | warten | hätte gewartet |
| to visit | besuchen | hätte besucht |
| to live | leben | hätte gelebt |
Meine Großeltern wären gern in den Westen gereist.
My grandparents would have liked to travel to the West.
Ohne die Proteste im Herbst 1989 wäre die Mauer vielleicht nicht so schnell gefallen.
Without the protests in autumn 1989, the Wall might not have fallen so quickly.
Wenn sie in Leipzig geblieben wäre, hätte sie dort studiert.
If she had stayed in Leipzig, she would have studied there.
Ohne die Mauer hätten viele Familien nicht so lange getrennt gelebt.
Without the Wall, many families would not have lived apart for so long.
Ich wäre geblieben, but ich hätte gewartet. With gern you can describe a wish that did not come true: Sie wären gern gereist. Ohne plus a noun can replace the wenn clause: ohne die Mauer.
03
Without wenn: Hätte ich das gewusst, …
The condition can also start with the verb instead of wenn: Hätte ich das früher gewusst, hätte ich ihm nie vertraut. The Stasi was the secret police of the GDR. Germany was reunified on 3 October 1990, and from 1992 people could apply to read the files the Stasi had kept on them.
Hätte ich das früher gewusst, hätte ich ihm nie vertraut.
Had I known that earlier, I would never have trusted him.
Ohne die geöffneten Akten hätten viele Betroffene die Wahrheit nie erfahren.
Without the opened files, many of those affected would never have learned the truth.
Wäre die Familie damals geflohen, hätte sie ihre Wohnung verloren.
Had the family fled back then, they would have lost their flat.
Was wäre aus uns geworden, wenn es die Mauer nie gegeben hätte?
What would have become of us if the Wall had never existed?
Die Akte means file, die Betroffenen the people affected and die Wiedervereinigung reunification. Vertrauen (to trust) takes the dative: ihm vertrauen. Was ist aus uns geworden asks what became of us.
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