Process Paper

Being an eminent figure in Germany's political government, President Reagan expresses his efforts to develop freedom in Europe with the words "Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall! We chose the fall of the Berlin Wall as our topic, because it not only fit the National History Day 2013 theme but allowed us to relate to our common heritage and explore its political government. As we considered other European political topics, we felt that the Berlin Wall was the most significant turning point that revolutionized not only Europe but other political governments around the world as well. However, we ruminated about our idea and decided to simplify our topic from The Berlin Wall to the succinct The Fall of the Berlin Wall, which transformed European government and life in Berlin.

The core stage of our project was research. We looked through tertiary, primary, and secondary sources to gain knowledge on the historical time period. We visited the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum to examine Berlin Wall displays. Witts website The Berlin Wall also featured personal essays addressing his personal experiences in Berlin and the people's reaction when the wall fell. Additionally, we interviewed twelve experts, including Professor Anne Berg from the University of Michigan, who gave us information on the fall, turning point, and impact. However, we were unable to post all of our interview transcripts due to the word count and lack of MB space. Resources from different corners not only gave us context but historical significance and analysis of this turning point. As we analyzed our research collection, our topic began to unwind its own story, changing the bipartisan groups of the U.S.S.R. and the U.S; as a result, this helped us understand the government and its historical background in different parts of the world today. Among all the different selections, the website category suited our topic best. A website, which egged us to incorporate multimedia content, made displaying historical context and analysis become interactive and easier for viewers to understand. Using National History Day Weebly, we were able to display information in multiple formats, including videos, transcripts, and documents. The fall of the Berlin Wall reflects the intensity of the fight for political parties and how one of the bipartisan groups prevailed. Illustrating a major political turning point, the failures of communism led to the fall of the Berlin Wall. These have shaped the rise of capitalism and free man, which has revolutionized modern day political government. Germanys unification, the building of its powerful economy, and the new path East Germany has taken all symbolize the impact this turning point has caused. Grasping this years theme Turning Points in History: People, Ideas, Events, the fall of the Berlin Wall holds the story of Europes past, being the crux of all political turning point events, and reveals the impact it has had on the citizens of the world.