The Big Picture

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Questions to Think about as You Read

  • How and why did the Cold War develop in the last years of World War II, and how did relations change between the two sides in the years following the war?
  • How did the Cold War affect politics and diplomacy?
  • How did the lives of Europeans in the East and West differ?
  • How did society and culture change after World War II in Western Europe?
  • In what ways did women continue to press for rights, and how successful were they?
  • What new rights were gained by previously marginalized groups within Europe?
  • What effect did the youth movement of the 1960s have on European society?
  • What were the causes of rebellion in Eastern Europe, and how did the USSSR react to it?
  • In what ways did the art, literature, music, and architecture of this period differ from that of earlier periods?

Class Documents

Homework Assignments

Assignment 1: Origins of the Cold War

Assignment 2: Later Cold War Diplomacy

Assignment 3: The Democratic West

Assignment 4: The Communist East

Assignment 5: Decolonization in Asia

​Assignment 6: Decolonization in Africa

Assignment 7: 20th Century Society and Culture

​Assignment 8: Study for Test on Period 4

  • Review green book chapters 10-12
  • Take practice questions

Primary Sources

Paul Sargent Makes History