At the end of World War II, (1939-1945) the American, British, and Allied armies occupied the “western” region of Europe, while the Communist Russian (Soviet) armies occupied the eastern region.

Europe was divided into a democratic Western Europe and a Communist Eastern Europe.

“An Iron Curtain has fallen over Eastern Europe” … Winston Churchill

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“Eastern” & “Western Countries”

Label and color the countries behind the “Iron Curtain.”

The “Cold War” was an ideological war which pitted the USA, the UK and the “West” against the Soviet Union and the eastern European communist countries controlled by the Soviets. This took place in the years after WWII and ended with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The battlefields of the cold war

Space raceEconomyPolitical ideologyEspionage (spying)

The world and the Cold War Division (late 1940’s to late 1980’s)

One of the themes of this unit is “Unity and Disunity.”

After the war, Hitler’s Germany was divided into four parts controlled by the USA, UK, France, and the Soviet Union.

Divided Berlin was inside the border of East Germany, which was behind the “Iron Curtain.”

“Iron Curtain”

Berlin

In 1961, the East Germans and the Soviets built the Berlin Wall, effectively dividing East and West Berlin.

The intent (and it was successful) was to keep East Germans in, not West Germans out!

Can you tell which side of the wall faced West Berlin?

The wall on the western side was covered in graffiti. If you approached the wall on the eastern side, you might be shot.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989-91, the Eastern European Communist countries quickly threw off the yoke of Soviet oppression. West Berliners “attacked” the wall and brought it down. The East German guards refused to shoot the German people.

When the people determined the East Germans guards wouldn't shoot, they began dismantling the wall.

Chipping souvenirs from the Western side of the Berlin Wall.

The re-unification of Germany in 1990. East and West Germany merged to become the Federal Republic of Germany.

With re-unification, many East Germans lost government payments and benefits. Many inefficient and polluting factories closed costing millions jobs.

The cost to integrate East Germany and West Germany was staggering, and had to be paid for by much wealthier West Germany.

With the enormous cost to West Germans to unify Germany, why would they want to spend up to an estimated $40,000 per person to re-unite the wealthy and poor regions of Germany?

German nationalism

An even stronger German economy.

Former East German flag.

Modern German flag