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 Introduction
Teacher Resources
Timeline
Major Events
Maps
Classroom Activities
Glossary
OTHER EPISODES
Cold War I
Citizen Kurchatov
Bay of Pigs
Yalta
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Part 1: Post-Viewing
TIMELINE
Ask small groups of students to work together to make cause and
effect diagrams of the events, misunderstandings, and decisions
leading up to the Soviet decision to blockade the city of Berlin.
Assign each group a different perspective: Truman and the American
point of view, Churchill and the British point of view, Stalin and
the Soviet point of view, and the viewpoints of citizens of Berlin.
Events on the timelines may be provided by the teacher and might
include: the division of Berlin and Germany, the attitudes and behavior
of various groups in Europe from 1945 on (especially Russian-German
relations), the proposal and implementation of the Marshall Plan
and accompanying currency changes, and the development of the Soviet
Bloc, which established other communist governments in Eastern Europe
aligned with the Soviet Union. Ask each group to make a presentation
to the class to explain the event from each perspective. Compare
and contrast these multiple viewpoints.
TAKE A STAND
List the events from the Timeline (see above) from left to right
(earlier to later date) on the chalkboard in front of the classroom.
Review the events factually and briefly, if necessary, and then
ask the students to stand along the timeline by the event or decision
they believe was the most crucial in causing the Berlin Crisis.
As the students "take a stand" and group themselves near
each of the events on the timeline, ask them to work together to
develop a 5-minute oral presentation explaining the reasons why
they selected their event as most crucial. Encourage the other students
to further question each group about their event and reasoning.
This activity will help students develop an understanding of the
cause and effect relationships involved in historical developments,
and of the variety of interpretations possible in looking at historical
events.
YALTA CONFERENCE
Many experts believe that the seeds of the Berlin Crisis and the
Cold War were sown in 1945 at the Yalta Conference when the Big
Three (Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill) evaded the issue of how
to govern occupied Germany for fear of damaging their alliance.
Organize the class into five groups representing the United States,
Great Britain, France, the USSR, and Germany. Ask each group to
research and prepare a "Yalta Proposal" representing their
nation's goals, hopes, and fears about how to most effectively occupy
and govern Germany after the war ends. Consider the following major
questions in your proposal:
- How should war-torn Europe be rebuilt? Who should assist and
pay for this?
- How should de-militarization and de-nazification be accomplished
in Germany and the countries it invaded? Who should control the
process of stabilization? To what extent should "sovereignty"
and the principles of "self-government" be restored
in a country that caused an entire world war?
- How should Germany be treated after the war: should it be restored
to full strength as the "engine of Europe," crippled
and weakened to prevent it from rising again, or permanently destroyed
and taken over by the victors? Explain your reasoning.
- How can the mistakes made in the Treaty of Versailles after
World War I be avoided now in the treaty process after World War
II?
EMOTIONS AND PROPAGANDA
One of the most interesting statements in the video is the claim
that the Berlin Crisis began in 1945 with the end of World War II
- even though the blockade itself did not occur until several years
later. Ask the students to research the role of the United States
in the Berlin Crisis and discuss whether they believe that the U.S.,
as a non-European country, should have been involved in the first
place. What effect do they think that emotions, public opinion,
and propaganda had in causing the Berlin Crisis? To bring this discussion
up to the present day, ask students to discuss the effect of emotions,
public opinion, and propaganda on one of today's current events.
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