Download Study guide questions with answers

SS6H7 Conflict and Change in Europe to the 21st century
Name _______________________
Answer as many of the questions as you can on your own. Use the information sheet and the book to complete
the answers you were not able to complete worksheet.
1. The Soviet Union took control of Eastern Europe after World War II.
2. The Soviet Government took control of the farming (agriculture) and factories (industry) and distributed
goods based on Soviet (government) interests, not the people’s interests.
3. With the defeat of Germany, the Soviet Union became the strongest nation in Europe.
4. After WWII Germany was divided; the United States, France and the United Kingdom occupied West
Germany and the Soviet Union occupied East Germany.
5. The United Kingdom and France wanted Germany to be a democratic (government) nation.
6. Most Western European countries were constitutional monarchies or democracies. Most Eastern
European countries had Soviet-controlled communist governments.
7. Which two countries became the Super Powers at the end of World War II?
The Soviet Union and the United States
8. Why was there a lack of worker motivation in countries under the control of the Soviet Union?
The government controlled how much people were paid and they were not rewarded for working harder.
9. Why were people in countries under the control of the Soviet Union poor and hungry?
The government controlled what and how much was produced and often times did not produce enough
or move goods where they needed to be in a timely manner
10. Since the Soviet Union and the United States had different ideas about governments and citizens’ rights,
why were they on the same side during World War II?
The Soviet Union and the United States had a common enemy during WWII, Germany led by
Adolph Hitler.
11. The Cold War was a time of great political tension between the United States and the Soviet Union which
never resulted in the two countries fighting against one other.
12. After World War II, what was the name of the political barrier between Western and Eastern Europe
restricting people’s ability to travel outside the region?
The Iron Curtain
13. What was the name of the real world structure that symbolized the “Iron Curtain” and the separation of
the East from the West?
The Berlin Wall
14. What are the two main things that the Super Powers competed in during the Cold War?
The Arms Race (Building up their military and nuclear weapons) and the Space Race
15. What happened to many people from East Germany that tried to escape to West Germany?
They were imprisoned or shot.
16. Why did people in East Germany risk their lives trying to cross over into West Germany?
They wanted to have basic rights and freedoms.
17. Graffiti was only on the west side of the Berlin wall. Give a fact that support that statement.

People on the east side would be shot if they got near the wall.
18. What prevented the two superpowers from starting a war against one another?
Both countries had nuclear weapons and this would have caused the destruction of both nations.
19. How did the Soviet Union and the United States differ in their ideas about government?
The United States had a democracy and the Soviet Union had communism.
The United Stated had a market economy and the Soviet Union had a command economy.
20. How does building the wall separating the city of Berlin prove that communism was a failure?
They had to build a wall to keep citizens on the east side, because so many people were escaping.
21. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Soviet Union became known as:
Russia
22. Why were most Eastern European countries’ economies lagging behind Western European countries’
economies?
They had been under communist rule for so long it was a slow process switching to democracies with
market economies.