The inquiry focuses on the visits of American Presidents Kennedy, Reagan, and Clinton, as well as Barack Obama as a Presidential candidate (2008) and as President (2013) to the city of Berlin, and the speeches each gave about the symbolic role Berlin carried during the Cold War in the heart of Europe. The Berlin Wall can be viewed both as the physical representation of a divided Europe (and world) into the democratic West and the communist East, and also the symbol of divisive ideologies. Students will explore the role that Berlin played as the 'battleground' of Cold War ideologies - as a geographical location, as well as the stage on which tumultuous events unfolded.