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Lesson Plan
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 35: The Melting of the Cold War

For Teachers 9th - 10th
As the Cold War evolved over four decades, the end of the world seemed imminent as the nuclear arms race continued to escalate. Popular music, especially in the 1980s, reflected this growing pessimism. By 1989 and 1990, as the Berlin...
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Website
George Mason University

Chnm: Making the History of 1989

For Students 9th - 10th
Excellent online resource that through the use of primary sources and scholar interviews, focuses on the historical events of 1989 that deal with the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. Great teacher resource with lesson plans...
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Handout
PBS

Commanding Heights

For Students 9th - 10th
This timeline of East Germany from 1945 to 1990 chronicles key events from communist domination to political and economic freedom with the end of the Cold War and the dismantling of the Berlin Wall.
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Handout
Steven Kreis, PhD

The History Guide: Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev

For Students 9th - 10th
Biographical account of Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, reformer of the Soviet Union. Includes information regarding Gorbachev's ascension to power with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and his role in reducing the Cold War...
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Handout
AllRefer

All refer.com: East Germany: Dissent

For Students 9th - 10th
Political dissent as practiced in East Germany is surveyed during the Cold War period.
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Website
PBS

Pbs: American Experience: Truman: Foreign Affairs

For Students 9th - 10th
This site gives a great overview of the early Cold War under President Truman. Describes relations with the Soviet Union, the atomic bomb, actions in western Europe, and the Korean War. A great piece that gives the reader a fantastic...
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Primary
Other

Hellenic Resources Network: Helsinki Final Act 1975

For Students 9th - 10th
This primary document is a copy of the Helsinki Agreements of 1975 which recognized the borders in central and Eastern Europe that were set up since the end of WWII. They show the acceptance of the Soviet influence in Eastern Europe. and...
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Primary
PBS

Pbs: American Experience: Truman Doctrine

For Students 9th - 10th
This is a copy of a speech given in 1947 that describes US intent in stopping the spread of communism. It outlines threats to communist expansion into Greece and Turkey, and the US response to such a threat. This is a great primary...
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Article
Sam Houston State University

Shsu: The Warsaw Pact

For Students 9th - 10th
Contains a wealth of information about the Warsaw Pact. Includes information about the Soviet Alliance System, the organization of East European National units, the development of Socialist Armies in Eastern Europe, East-West diplomacy...
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Interactive
BBC

Bbc: News: Collapse of the Ussr 10 Years On

For Students 9th - 10th
Extensive information about the collapse of the USSR. Includes an interactive timeline from 1985 through 1991, an interactive map of the countries of the USSR with country profiles and timelines, eyewitness accounts of the collapse of...
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Article
BBC

Bbc: The Soviet Union's Last Stand

For Students 9th - 10th
1991 was a tumultuous year for the Soviet Union, filled with reform, an attempted coup, and eventual collapse of the empire. In this series of articles, explore the final days of the ailing Soviet Union.
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Primary
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Woodrow Wilson Center: Digital Archive: Conference on Security & Cooperation

For Students 9th - 10th
Documents from the years 1968 to 1976 on the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), which concluded with the signing of the Helsinki Final Act on August 1, 1975.
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Article
Siteseen

Siteseen: American Historama: Domino Theory

For Students 9th - 10th
Many of the Cold War presidents used the Domino Theory as the main justification for their involvement and intervention in the affairs of Eastern Europe, the Middle East, China, Korea, Cuba, and Vietnam as it related to the spread of...
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Containment and the Marshall Plan

For Students 5th - 8th
Read about President Truman's two-pronged foreign policy for Europe. Find out about his containment policy and the Truman Doctrine, which was manifested in the Marshall Plan.