Annotated Bibliography

Primary

Prečan, Vilém. “Prague Communists Called for Wall to Open on November 8, 1989.” The

National Security Archive, The National Security Archive, 8 November 2009,

https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB294/index.htm.

This source has documents and information on the East German Refugee Crisis in Prague

and how it affected the fall of the Berlin Wall. It has information on East Germans fleeing

to West Germany through Czechoslovakia.

“The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.” Youtube, uploaded by No Comment TV, 10 Nov. 2009,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmRPP2WXX0U.

This source shows people breaking the Berlin Wall with pickaxes and celebrating after

the opening of the border. It shows how the fall of the Berlin Wall was beneficial to the

population of Berlin and East Germany. It is the multimedia that we used on our website.

Wilson Center Staff. “Günter Schabowski’s Press Conference in the GDR International Press

Center 6:53 - 7:01 p.m.,” Wilson Center Digital Archive, Cold War International History

Project (CWIHP), https://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/113049.

 This primary source is a translated transcript of the press conference that led to the fall of

the Berlin Wall. This source was very important to us in understanding exactly how the

Berlin Wall fell and the situation in the East German government.

Secondary

BBC News Staff. “Fall of Berlin Wall: How 1989 reshaped the modern world.” BBC News, BBC

News, 5 Nov. 2019, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50013048.

This secondary source gave us more information about the fall of the Berlin Wall. It also

has information from a border guard who was in charge that evening that gives us more

clues as to why the guards didn’t stop the people from crossing the border. We got the

picture on the title of the pages on our website from this source.

BBC Staff. “Impact of Gorbachev’s Reforms in Eastern Europe.” BBC Bitesize, BBC

News, https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zwp86fr/revision/4.

This source helped us list the reforms that were made in other Eastern European countries

which led to the Berlin Wall. It also has information on why Erich Honecker resigned.

Berlin Wall Map, https://berlinwallmap.info/map/.

This source is where we got the map used on our website.

Beard, Steven. “30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germany recalls the economic gulf

between East and West.” Marketplace, Marketplace, 4 Nov. 2019,

https://www.marketplace.org/2019/11/04/30-years-after-the-fall-of-the-berlin-wall-germa

ny-recalls-the-economic-gulf-between-east-and-west/.

We learned that on November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall was demolished and hundreds of

thousands of Easterners fled to the West. They fled because of human rights abuse,

political repression, and because of economic conditions in the East.

Davis, Austin, and Marcel Fürstenau. “The demonstration that took down East Germany.” DW,

DW, 4 Nov. 2019,

https://www.dw.com/en/november-4-alexanderplatz-largest-demonstration-east-germany-

1989/a-51086517.

This source tells us about the Alexanderplatz demonstrations that happened five days

before the fall of the Berlin Wall. This gives us insights into how these demonstrations

influenced the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Grouchy, Susan. “On This Day In Berlin History | 4 November 1989: East Germans Protest On

Alexanderplatz.” Berlin Guides Association, Berlin Guides Association, 4 Nov. 2020,

https://berlinguidesassociation.com/on-this-day-in-berlin-history-4-november-1989-east-

germans-protest-on-alexanderplatz/.
 This source helped us understand the Alexanderplatz demonstrations which led to the fall

of the Berlin Wall. It helped us understand how the situation in the East German

government was deteriorating due to the protests and Erich Honecker’s resignation.

Hasic, Albinko. “What Happened the Day the Berlin Wall Fell.” Time, Time, 7 Nov. 2019,

https://time.com/5720386/berlin-wall-fall/.

This source gives us a lot of information from the rise of the Berlin Wall to the fall of the

Berlin Wall. It gives us a lot of background information and also has information about

why the Berlin Wall fell including policies by Mikhail Gorbachev and elections in

Eastern Europe.

History.com Editors. “Berlin Wall.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 15 Dec. 2009,

https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/berlin-wall.

We learned that on August 13, 196, the communist government of the German

Democratic Republic began to build a barbed wire and concrete bulwark between East

and West Berlin. We also learned about the Berlin blockade which happened before the

construction of the Berlin Wall. We got the picture of people fleeing East Berlin from this

source.
History.com Editors. “Perestroika and Glasnost.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 12

Apr. 2010, https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/perestroika-and-glasnost.

We learned about the policies and reforms adopted by Mikhail Gorbachev that influenced

the fall of the Berlin Wall. We also learned about how Gorbachev pushed for truly

democratic elections and more relaxed trade regulations.

National Geographic Staff. “Diplomacy.” National Geographic - Education, National

Geographic, https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/diplomacy.

This source details the history of diplomacy, helping us understand it better, and it is

where we got our definition of diplomacy. It helped us connect our topic to the History

Day theme.

Peter, Lawrence. “East Germany 1989 - the march that KO'd communism.” BBC News, BBC, 14

Oct. 2019, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50003305.

We learned more about the protests and demonstrations that happened in East German

especially those in Leipzig. On October 9, 1989, the international fair in Leipzig allowed

international journalists to visit, and a crowd of people demanded freedom in Leipzig.

The article also had a small timeline which was useful.

Pew Research Center Staff. “Berlin Wall's Fall Marked the End of the Cold War for the
 American Public.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 31 May 2020,

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/11/03/berlin-walls-fall-marked-the-end-of-t

e-cold-war-for-the-american-public/.

This source gave us information on how the fall of the Berlin Wall affected Americans. It

has many statistics and polls on American opinion of the fall of the Berlin Wall. We got

the picture of the section of the destroyed wall from this source.

Revolution 89 Staff. “Major demonstration on Alexanderplatz.” Revolution und Mauerfall,

Revolution und Mauerfall, https://revolution89.de/en/revolution/major-demonstr

ation-on-alexanderplatz.

This source taught us about the demonstrations in Alexanderplatz. We learned that the

government stationed forces at the Berlin Wall after approving the demonstration. We

also got the picture of demonstrators from this source.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Berlin Wall.” Encyclopaedia Britannica,

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 20 Jul. 1998, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Berlin-Wall.

This source gave us a lot of background information and a basic understanding of the

Berlin Wall as a whole. We learned about the causes and effects of the fall of the Berlin

Wall. We also got statistics about the number of people who crossed the Berlin Wall, the

number of people who were captured, etc. We got the picture of the workers building the
wall from this source.