Amidst the rising tensions during the Cold War, the Soviet-aligned East and American-aligned West of Berlin faced a coexistence of conflict. Berliners were free to move throughout the city, without any border checkpoints, allowing them to potentially live in one half, but work or go to school in the other. However, this freedom was suddenly halted in 1961, as the border became strictly enforced and the Berlin Wall was constructed. No longer could Berliners enjoy their past freedoms, and they would not be able to again until the fall of the wall in 1989. 

 In this joint historical crisis committee, delegates will be sent back in time to before the construction of the Berlin Wall to address the contentious geopolitical issues that led to its construction in the first place. The full committee is made up of two smaller separated committees representing the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), under the leadership of Konrad Adenauer, and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), under Walter Ulbricht. Throughout the conference weekend, these cabinets will maintain regular communication and have significant impacts on one another, as each attempts to navigate their complex geopolitical circumstances within the larger ideological, political, and humanitarian issues that shaped the Cold War to achieve their goals.