2. Berlin Wall
-Separated East Berlin and West Berlin for 28
years, just as the Inner German Border
separated East Germany and West Germany
-Soviet Union controlled East Germany and
East Berlin, making East Germany and East
Berlin under communist control
3. Reasons for fall of Berlin Wall
-Economic slump of the 1980's due to decline
of stocks
-Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 22.6% in
October 1987
-Most of Eastern Europe was hit hard by the
economic decline after the Cold War,
including Germany
5. Oppression of Honecker's Regime
-Erich Honecker: German Socialist Politician
leader who ruled East Germany
-He did not accept any reforms as proposed by
the people
-Imprisoned anybody who criticized the
government
-Killed anybody who tried to leave East
Germany, over a hundred people killed while
attempting escape
-People were not allowed to express opinions
or leave East Germany
6. Opposition of Honecker's regime
cont..
-Honecker refused to make reforms in East
Germany
-Large demonstrations made in summer and
fall of 1989 to protest the regime
-One of the major protests was the Monday
Demonstrations in Leipzig (1989)
-Honecker and his regime lost power to the
masses who resisted them
-As of November 1989, the government of East
Germany had no legitimate power and by
7. Video of the fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall united families who
have been separated for 28 years
9. Fall of Berlin Wall Summary
Long term causes: Economic depression in the
1980's and oppression of Honecker's regime
Immediate causes: Pressure of people in
protests and pressure from other countries,
such as the United States
Motivations and Perceptions: Honecker and
the East German government wanted to
improve housing and goods of the country. By
this point in 1990, East Germany was relying
too much on West Germany to carry on as
their own self-sufficient country.
10. Fall of the Berlin Wall Summary
cont..
Events: Mass protests, Monday
Demonstrations, fall of the Berlin wall,
Germany's unification
Effects:
-July 1990: Economies of West and East
Germany merge
-Political unification accomplished in Germany
-After the fall of the Berlin Wall, democratic
reforms began in Eastern Europe.
Communist control declines
12. Velvet Revolution
-The Velvet Revolution took place in
Czechoslovakia in 1989
-Lead by intellectuals who wanted to get rid of
the communist government
-Mass protests were staged in order to do this
-Human rights activist Vaclav Havel lead this
revolution
14. Prague Demonstrations
-Large protests were organized in Prague in
order to get rid of the communist government
-A peaceful protest in Prague on November 17,
1989 was violently suppressed by riot police,
which sparked anger by protesters
-Gustav Husak, the president, ordered army to
suppress the rioters.
-From November 19 to December, more
protesters gathered in Prague.
-General strike called for all citizens to meet on
November 27 in Prague. (200,000 protesters in November, 500,000 in
16. Velvet Revolution cont..
-After protests, large meetings were held in
order to convey people's demands to the
government
-Vaclav Havel started the Civic Forum and
Public Against Violence, which were
organizations that tried to overthrow the
communist regime in the country.
-The Czechoslovakian government replaced
high ranking officials in an attempt to satisfy
the people
17. End of Velvet Revolution
-Ultimately this was not radical enough
-Communist government slowly declined
-December 10, 1989 president Gustav Husak
resigned
-Vaclav Havel elected as nation's president
-Alexander Dubcek, leader of Prague Spring,
was elected speaker of the Assembly
18. Summary of Velvet Revolution
Long term causes:
-Czechoslovakia's rulers built up heavy industry
and the economy
-Ignored agriculture and production of
consumer goods
-This lead to food shortages, scarce housing,
and poor-quality consumer goods.
Short term causes:
-Mass Prague demonstrations
19. Summary of Velvet Revolution
Motivations and Perceptions of the
protesters:- Protesters felt that their human
rights, freedom, and prosperity were being
neglected by the government.
-Felt that they needed democracy in order to
grant them rights
-Did not like the oppressive regime
20. Summary of the Velvet Revolution
Motivation and Perceptions of the
communists:- Government of
Czechoslovakia were extremely loyal to the
USSR
-They felt that they needed to follow example of
USSR and stress building of heavy industry
and economic development
-Felt that it would be the best for the country
and increase power
-To maintain communism they felt they had to
take necessary measures to maintain it (even
21. Summary of Velvet Revolution
Events:
- Prague demonstrations, resignation of Gustav
Husak
Effects:
-Transformed Czechoslovakia into a
democratic government
-Another sign of decline of communism in the
world
22. Breakup of Czechoslovakia
-Less than 3 years after the Velvet Revolution,
Czechs and Slovaks agreed to form two new
nations, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
This dissolution was called the Velvet
Divorce.
-Czechs and the Slovaks disagreed on political
parties and how the government should be
run.
-The Czechs voted mainly for the ODS party
-The Slovaks voted mainly for the HDZS party
23. Czech Republic and Slovakia
-December 31, 1992 Czechoslovakia split into
Czech Republic and Slovakia
-Czech Republic was led by prime minister
Vaclav Klaus
-Slovakia was led by Vladimir Meciar
25. Breakup of Yugoslavia
-The breakup of Yugoslavia refers to a series of
events between 1990 and 1997
-Strong nationalistic feelings and political
problems led to the countries breakup
-Different rivalries and fighting between ethnic
groups within the country added tension
-The death of communist Yugoslav leader Josip
Tito and the fall of communism left the
country in chaos with different ethnic groups
in Yugoslavia fighting over land and power
26. Bosnian War
-Within the years 1992-1995
-Conflict in Bosnia in which Bosnian Serbs
murdered and destroyed homes of Non-Serbs
-Muslims, Croats, and other Non-Serbs were
targeted
-Croats and Non-Serbs fought back against the
Serbs
-Serbians received most of the blame for the
war
27. Ethnic Cleansing
-Policy by the Serbs to get rid of any other
ethnicities from Bosnia
-Non-Serbs were forced to leave Bosnia, some
murdered
-Concentration camps also set up by Serbs to
get rid of other ethnicities
-Croats and Muslims also did ethnic cleansing
on Serbs
28. Kosovo Rebellion
-Violent struggle between Serbs and Albanians
who both claimed rights to the Kosovo region
-Guerrilla warfare, merciless killings, and
burning of homes were tactics
-Kosovo wanted an independent state
-The fighting was so bad in Kosovo that NATO
(North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was
forced to intervene
29. NATO intervention
-Nato threatened leaders in Kosovo that if they
did not withdraw troops and make peace,
there would be a NATO airstrike
-Serbian troops withdrawn, but shortly after
fighting picked up again
-NATO then warned fighting groups that if they
did not reach an agreement, then they would
send troops in to stop the fighting
-In 1999, the US president Bill Clinton sent
27,000 troops to implement peace
