The Collapse of the Soviet Union and German Reunification

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The Collapse of the Soviet Union and German Reunification

SPONGE:

Please put ALL notes/books away!!!! There is ABSOLUTELY NO TALKING!!!!

Find Someone Who Has…..Matching Review

Please put ALL notes/books away!!!! There is ABSOLUTELY NO TALKING!!!!

Some students will be given words or dates (BLUE PAPER).

Other students will be given the definitions or events (ORANGE PAPER).Silently and using no gestures, find your match!!!!

Activator Anticipation Guide (T/F)

WRITE ALL STATEMENTS!!!!

___ 1. The Soviet’s economy was a

strong, growing economy.___ 2. Mikhail Gorbachev increased

Soviet military spending and continued Cold War policies.

___3. The city of Berlin was

divided after World War II.___4. Germany has never been reunited into one country.___ 5. The Soviet Union split into 15 republics in 1991.

Alphaboxes Graphic Organizer

Place your

Alphaboxes

graphic organizer on your desk. You will need to complete all of the empty boxes after we are done with today’s activity.

What Are We About to Learn?

SS6H7: The student will explain conflict and change in Europe to the 21

st

century.What Should You Be Able To Do?Explain how the collapse of the Soviet Union led to the end of the Cold War and German *

reunification.

*(reunite or bring back together)

Refresher: Superpowers

Soviet Union and the U.S. were evenly matched.

They both had:

permanent seats on the UN SecurityStrong militariesSpace technologyLarge reserves of nuclear weapons

Superpowers Competing

After World War II ended in 1945, the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) competed to become the most powerful nation in the world.

Weapons Buildup Space Race

Arms Race

Superpowers Competing

Could the Soviet Union keep up???

Take a minute to think about the following question before you answer it.

What do you think caused the Soviet Union to collapse?

Beginning with the Launch of Sputnik 1

(first Earth-orbiting artificial satellite

) by the Soviet Union, the Space Race was a contest between the Soviet Union and the United States.

It involved the launching the first satellite into orbit, the first human and also the first human on the moon.

Space Race

Laika (LY-kuh

) Space Dog

1957- Russian dog,

Laika orbited the planet. She was launched into space on Sputnik 2.

Yuri Gagarin

On the 12th of April in 1961, Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet pilot was the first person to travel into space.

U.S.Neil

Armstrong

On the 21st of July in 1969, Astronaut Neil Armstrong of the United States became the first man to set foot on the moon. 

Arms Race

U.S. was the first country in the world to use nuclear weapons.

In 1952, the United States exploded their first hydrogen bomb.

The Soviet Union was extremely concerned by these developments. Although they had exploded their first atomic weapon in 1949, they were a long way behind the United States in nuclear technology

.

Communist Government

Since Soviet Union had a Communist government, the government decided and made all the decisions for their citizens.

Government controlled everything!!!!!

Not Meeting the Needs

The Soviet government was spending (wasting) money on weapons buildup, space race, and supporting other Communist countries, it was

NOT meeting their citizens’ basic needs—bread, meat, and clothing.

Attempts to Change

In 1956, Hungary and Poland tried to break away from Soviet control. However, the Communist army put an end to these attempts.

Nikita

Krushchev (KRUSH-chef) ruled Soviet Union from 1958-1964, but was unsuccessful. He was removed from power.

Hmmm…

Who Was Mikhail Gorbachev????

Soviet leader that came to power in 1985.

He wanted to modernize the economy and agreed to decrease military spending.He allowed more political and economic freedom.He did NOT force the countries of Eastern Europe to remain Communist.

Did Gorbachev’s Reform Plan Work????

Not really…The economies in Eastern Europe did not improve and Communists were displeased.

Coming To An End In1991

In 1991, a group of more traditional leaders tried to take over the Soviet government.

Thousands of people opposed.

One by one, the Soviet republics declared independence.Warsaw Pact was dissolved and Soviet Union no longer existed.Split into 15 republics. The Cold War was over!

Let’s CFU

Take out “The Cold War Ends” discussion questions, so that we can discuss your answers!!!!

Review: Group Activities

Your group will be assigned a topic. As a group, you all will complete the assignment that is next to the topic you all were assigned.

* Topics and Activities handouts are stacked up in your groups.

Let’s Find Out…Whole-Group Reading

Together we will read, “The Cold War Ends” and “The Collapse of the Soviet Union and German Reunification.”

Anticipation Guide Check

After reading about the collapse of the Soviet Union, were the responses on your Anticipation Guide correct?????