2007 Proposal - Germany's Reunification (1 Viewer)

[jackono]

Hello all, I have spent the term narrowing down my History Ext topic to the reunification of Germany on October 3, 1990. What I need now, especially since my proposal is due very soon, is what exactly I am going to focus on in terms of my topic and question. What I was wondering is that do any of you guys know of any interesting historical debates surrounding this turbulent period. I was thinking about maybe evaluating the East and West German perspectives on unficiation, or maybe looking at the impacts that the unification had on Germany and Europe as a whole. However I am worried that this is either too a) unoriginal or b) speculative. Any help that you can provide on this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[xeuyrawp]

Heya,

I think that would be an interesting topic. As for originality - I don't think it's too unoriginal, you'll just have to find an original niche inside the topic. For example, maybe compare East German vs Soviet sources. I think an exploration as to how East Germans were culturally and ideologically different from the occupying forces would be interesting.

Perhaps a bigger picture would also be good - something like how Germany reacted to the reunification. At the time, did the East Germans say that Germany should reunify? Did they think it would happen? If yes and yes, why did it only happen as part of the USSR's fall? Two answers would be that firstly, the Germans were pragmatically incapable of ruling themselves, and secondly, were ideologically incapable. There's been a lot of discussion about how the WW2 is an eternal guilt for modern Germans - did they even want to empower themselves?

Unfortunately, I'm not very well educated on the subject, but I don't think there are many debates in terms of historicity. Issues like propaganda and other sources would be awesome, though. Put it this way: West Germany was occupied by three major world powers, and East Germany by one - all of whom directly fought the Germans in the war. The official state sources are thus going to differ hugely, especially when we consider that none of the occupying forces were culturally similar to the Germans. Maybe you could compare East and West social (as in social history) sources? Something like an Annales School approach would be perfect.

 

[jackono]

Wow thank you so much PwarYuex...there is some great stuff there. Thanks again for your help - it is very much appreciated.

 

[xeuyrawp]

I'm glad I could help.

To be honest, don't be too bent up about having a precise question. For the mean time, have a clear direction in which you're heading. Make sure you have clear goals, but none of these have to be a specific question.

The reason I say this is because some people get so anxious about formulating a question, they neglect doing important general background reading.

I also think many people use formulating a question as a tool of procrastination - 'I can't do any researching yet, I have no question'.