Lesson 5: 20th Century Europe
February 4, 2026
Review:
Presentation:
- Europe Map Quiz Game for practice
- World War II
- Intro to “The War” by Ken Burns
- World War II in European Theater
- Estimated casualties by country (60M worldwide)
- Timeline of Key Events
- Geographic time-lapse depiction of WWII European Theater
- 1939
- Hitler invades Poland
- Britain and France declare war on Germany
- 1940
- German Blitzkrieg overwhelms Belgium, Holland and France
- Churchill becomes Prime Minister of England
- Britain holds off German invasion in the Battle of Britain
- 1941
- Hitler begins invasion of Russia
- US enters war after Japan attacks Pearl Harbor
- 1942
- Ferocious Russian-German combat, millions of soldiers and civilians killed
- Siege of Leningrad (recommended: City of Thieves by David Benioff)
- Holocaust begins at Auschwitz
- 1943
- German army suffers major defeat in Battle of Stalingrad
- Allies invade Italy
- 1944
- Russian Army advances into Eastern Europe
- Allies invade France on D-Day (June 6, 1944)
- 1945
- Russian Army captures Berlin
- Hitler commits suicide and Germany surrenders
- Post World War II
- European Recovery Program (The Marshall Plan)
- Institutions formed
- United Nations (UN)
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
- International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- World Bank
- World Trade Organization (WTO)
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- Cold War
- Iron Curtain
- Major Proxy Wars
- Korean War (1950-1953)
- Vietnam War (1955-1975)
- Soviet-Afghan War (1979-1989)
- Ends in collapse of Soviet Union (1989-1991) and opening of Eastern Europe
Assignment:
- Optional Resources (not required)
- If you don’t know much about WWII and want a quick fix, you might try watching:
- For more in depth understanding, I recommend:
