  Documents the rise and fall of the Soviet Union. See Lenin and Stalin; the Berlin Airlift; the Hungarian Revolution; JFK in Berlin; Ronald Reagan’s “Tear Down This Wall” speech. Copyright 2011, Running time 20 minutes. |
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| WITNESS TO HISTORY: THE COLLAPSE OF THE SOVIET UNIONWITNESS TO HISTORY: THE COLLAPSE OF THE SOVIET UNION Objectives • Introduces students to the rise and fall of the USSR and the communist countries of Eastern Europe, known as the Soviet Bloc. • Stimulates discussion of important events in 20th century history. • Provides primary source material for historical authenticity • Encourages students to study this subject in greater depth. Summary of Content This program looks at the history of the USSR from its creation in 1922 to its dissolution in 1991. The program also follows the rise and fall of the Soviet Bloc, the communist countries behind the Iron Curtain, from the end of World War II to the Revolutions of 1989. Archival footage documents the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II ; Lenin and the Russian Revolution ; Stalin and the rise of the USSR as a world power ; post-World War II Europe and the Iron Curtain; the events that led to the building of the Berlin Wall; the economic and political reforms instituted by Mikhail Gorbachev; the fall of the Berlin Wall. Also highlighted are the Potsdam Conference, the Berlin Airlift, the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, the Prague Spring, the Brezhnev Doctrine, and Solidarity. Discussion Questions 1. What was the “October Manifesto”? What was the result of Tsar Nicholas II not allowing the Dumas to function as a representative government? How might history have been different if he had allowed political, social, and economic changes? 2. How did Nikolai Lenin come to power? What policies did he establish that became essential principles of Russian Communism? 3. How did the economic and social policies of Joseph Stalin contribute to the rise of the Soviet Union as one of the world’s two great powers? 4. What did Winston Churchill mean when he said an “Iron Curtain” had descended across Europe? 5. What was the Cold War? Identify the two sides and discuss some of the times the “cold” war came close to turning “hot.” 6. Germany was the focal point of many of the most important events of the Cold War. Discuss the creation of East and West Germany, the Berlin Airlift, the rise of the Berlin Wall, the fall of the Berlin Wall. 7. What was the Brezhnev Doctrine? How did it affect the people of Eastern Europe? 8. What affect did the economic policies of Leonid Brezhnev have on the downfall of the Soviet Union? 9. Why was the Solidarity movement so important in the collapse of Soviet domination of Eastern Europe? 10. What do you think it would be like to live in a country like the Soviet Union in the 1980s and 1990s when you might have to stand in line for hours to buy essential needs such as food or clothing? 11. What are “glasnost” and “perestroika”? Discuss the significance of the economic and social reforms put forward by Mikhail Gorbechev. Activities • Have students identify the four Soviet republics that made up the USSR at its creation in 1922 and the 15 republics that dissolved it in 1991. Have them discuss the status of each nation today. • Have students match the Person in Column A with the Event in Column B. Then have the students chose one person and the corresponding event and discuss the role each played in the rise and/or fall of the Soviet Union. Column A Column B Nikolai Lenin Building of the Berlin Wall Winston Churchill Russian Revolution Ronald Reagan Five Year Plans Joseph Stalin Solidarity Movement Alexander Dubchek Fall of the Berlin Wall Nikita Khrushchev Iron Curtain Speech Lech Walensa “Prague Spring” • The Cold War was a time of open hostility between the United States and its allies in NATO and the Soviet Union and the communist countries of the Warsaw Pact. But there was never an actual war between those two sides. That was not true of relations with the communist countries in Asia. Have students examine and discuss Communist China, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. |
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