Despite a surprisingly rapid economic recovery after the catastrophe of World War II and the remarkable success of European integration, Western European nations were effectively relegated to the status of second-class powers, both politically and 'morally', and the East seemed caught in the vise of state socialism for the foreseeable future. But the unexpected collapse of the Berlin Wall and the disintegration of the Soviet 'block' force us to look again at the developments from 1945-1989 in a divided Europe and a divided Germany from a post-89 perspective: what was really going on?

Note: EURO1000/1001: Two session-length courses, which together form the first year of the European Studies major, but are also available separately. May also be counted towards a major in HIST.