Download Chapter 15 - 1945 - Present

How does this make you feel? Why?
Instructions
Anything written in yellow (SLOW down and
pay attention) is useful information. You should
write it in your notes IN YOUR OWN WORDS.
Anything in red (STOP and pay close attention)
is critical information and should be copied
exactly.
Anything in green (GO on to the next point)
you do not have to write.
The Big Idea
After years of division
during the Cold War,
today Europe is working
toward unity.
Main Idea 1
• The Cold War divided Europe
between democratic and
Communist nations.
• The United States and the Soviet
Union emerged from World War II
as superpowers, or strong and
influential countries. The two soon
grew to distrust each other.
• This distrust led to the Cold War, a
period of tense rivalry between the
United States and the Soviet
Union.
• Much of the hostility between the two
countries stemmed from political and
economic differences:
– The United States is a democracy with an
economy based on free enterprise.
– The Soviet Union was a Communist
country in which freedoms were limited.
Its leaders exerted strong control over
both politics and economics.
A Divided Europe
Western Europe
•Supported democracy and the
United States
•Members of NATO
•Experienced much economic
growth after World War II
A Divided Europe
Eastern Europe
•Practiced Soviet-style Communism
•Members of Warsaw Pact
•Failed to develop after World War
II and suffered many shortages
•Germany was divided between
Western and Eastern Europe.
-West Germany was part of
Western Europe and
democratic.
-East Germany was part of
Eastern Europe and Communist.
•The city of Berlin was also
divided into East and West Berlin.
Berlin Airlift of 1949
• At the start of the Berlin Blockade,
before the Airlift started, West Berlin
had just thirty-five days’ worth of food,
and forty-five days’ worth of coal.
• Without the involvement of the Allied
Armed Forces, West Berlin would have
been lost and the nature of post-war
Europe would have altered
significantly.
Quick Facts about the Berlin Airlift
• The Airlift officially ended on Sept. 30, 1949, fifteen
months after its meager beginnings in June of '48.
• In total, the US delivered 1,783,572.7 tons, while
541,936.9 tons were delivered by the British
totaling 2.3 Million tons from 277, 569 total flights
to Berlin.
• C-47's and C-54's alone traveled over 92 million
miles in order to do so.
• A total of 101 fatalities were recorded as a result of
the operation, including 31 Americans, mostly due
to crashes.
Main Idea 2
• Many Eastern European countries
changed boundaries and forms of
government at the end of the Cold
War.
The Cold War came to an end
in the late 1980s through the
efforts of American and
Soviet leaders.
American president Ronald
Reagan and Soviet leader
Mikhail Gorbachev worked
to slow the arms race
between the two countries.
Gorbachev also introduced
many reforms in the Soviet
Union, including democratic
elections.
In part because of these
reforms, democratic
movements swept through
Eastern Europe. Countries
threw off Communism, and
the Berlin Wall was torn
down. In 1991 the Soviet
Union broke apart.
Changes in Eastern Europe
• Germany
–East and West Germany reunified after
45 years of division. The Berlin Wall
was torn down.
• Soviet Union
–Former Soviet republics became
independent countries. Among them
were Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, and
Belarus.
Changes in Eastern Europe
• Czechoslovakia
– Czechoslovakia peacefully broke apart into
two countries: the Czech Republic and
Slovakia.
• Yugoslavia
– Ethnic conflicts triggered violence between
groups. Several former republics of
Yugoslavia declared their independence, but
ethnic groups fought for territory. Years of
civil war resulted in thousands of deaths. In
the end, Yugoslavia split into five countries.
Main Idea 3
• European cooperation has brought
economic and political change to
Europe.
A European Community
• After World War II some leaders thought
that working together was the only way to
avoid another world war.
• In the 1950s several European countries
created a common market, a group of
nations that cooperates to make trade
easier.
The European Union
• Over time more countries joined the common
market. Today it is known as the European
Union or EU and has 25 members.
• Members of the EU work together on issues
such as trade, migration, and the environment.
By working together, EU members can compete
economically with countries like the United
States and Japan.
• The EU is helping to unify Europe. Since 1999,
for example, many EU members have used a
common currency, the euro.
1980 Map