Content Objective:
SWBAT investigate & examine the history of
Europe and its effects on current development.
Language Objective:
SWBAT demonstrate their knowledge of
European society by writing a paper and class
discussion.
Eastern Europe
Physical
1. Territorially it is Europe's largest region, with a total of 18
countries.
2. Extends from the Baltic Sea in the north, to the Black and
Adriatic Seas to the south.
3. It has little coastal access, though – significant?
4. Lowlands to the north which are good for agriculture; hills and
mountains in the south
Population
1. 190 million people.
2. Most live in urban-industrial areas near Czech and Slovak
Republics and southern Poland.
3. The population growth is zero to negative – problems?
4. The second-largest religion in Europe is Islam, followed by
Judaism.
5. Europe has the largest number of nonreligious and atheists in
the Western world.
Other
1. Geographers call this region a shatter belt – a zone of persistent
splintering and fracturing.
2. Balkanization – the process of fragmentation or division of a region
into smaller regions that are often hostile or non-cooperative with
each other.
a. Refers to many small ethnic groups found in the Balkan
Peninsula.
3. Movement – Poland and the Czech Republic have large amounts of
coal and iron
a. Grain production – wheat
Countries
1. Romania is the ultimate tragedy of
Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe
a. A communist dictator
squandered Romania's wealth,
b. Destroyed much of the
countries architecture
c. The dictator encouraged all
women to have five children
d. Home of Count Dracula?
Countries, cont.
2. Czech Republic is the most Westernized country;
about the size of New York
3. Serbia is an example of Balkanization
a. Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, and
Macedonia were Yugoslavia
4. Bosnia – 49% Muslim, 31% Serbs and 17% Croats –
conflict?
5. Slovenia was the first to secede from Yugoslavia on
June 25, 1991
Soviet Control
1. After WWII, the Soviet Union came to dominate E.
Europe - buffer zone.
2. The boundary became known as the Iron Curtain.
3. Natural resources of Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary,
etc. were drained for Soviet benefit.
4. In 1989, E. Europe was successful in establishing
their own ind. government.
Czechoslovakia
1. Gains independence from Soviet control in 1989
2. In 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully divided into the
Czech Rep. & Slovakia – Velvet Revolution
Break Up of Yugoslavia
1. Yugoslavia was created after WWI mainly by the US, GB, and
French.
2. It combines lands populated by several Slavic groups.
3. The main Slavic groups are Serbs, Croats, Bosnians, and
Slovenians.
4. Serbs and Croats think of themselves as separate peoples.
5. Croats and Slovenians are Roman Catholic.
6. Serbs and Macedonians are Eastern Orthodox.
7. Most people in Bosnia are Muslim.
Break Up of Yugoslavia, cont.
8. Civil war broke out in Bosnia between Serbs (Orthodox),
Croats (Catholic), and Bosnians (Muslim).
9. Serbs began “ethnic cleansing”, 300K people died
10. Peace treaty is signed in 1995 by Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia
(Yugoslavia)
11. 1998 - Serbs attack Kosovo led by Slobodan Milosevic
12. 1999 - US/NATO air strikes finally end conflict
Srebrenica Massacre
1. July 1995 – 8,000 Bosnian men & boys killed
2. 25,000 refugees killed by Serbian Army
3. Considered U.N. safe zone – 400 Dutch peacekeepers
4. Radovan Karadžić – most wanted man in the world
captured July 2008
Issues
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Conflict in Northern Ireland
Ethnic Cleansing in the former Yugoslavia
The Basque region of Spain
The velvet revolution of Czechoslovakia
Fleming’s vs. Walloon’s in Belgium
Pollution situation in Eastern Europe
Writing a constitution for the European Union
Zero or negative population growth and its effects in Europe
Content Objective:
SWBAT investigate & examine the history of
Europe and its effects on current development.
Language Objective:
SWBAT demonstrate their knowledge of
European society by writing a paper and class
discussion.