A History of Eastern Europe

Beginning with a geographic overview of Eastern Europe; Professor Liulevicius introduces the key themes of Eastern Europe's diversity, the region's shifting borders and its separateness from and connections with the West.

Examining the waves of people who settle Eastern Europe during the ancient and medieval worlds; ethnic groups create a diversity of language and culture; the mix of Christians, Jews and Muslims lead to the region's first political strife.

A look at several decisive battles; how these battles are transformed into legends; why they are key turning points for the region's political landscape; the creation of a united Poland-Lithuania; the rise of empires in Prussia, Austria and Russia.

The dissolution of the combined nation of Poland and Lithuania; civil strife provides the pretext for neighboring empires to annex the nation; the results of this partition; the political problem that plagues the region for the next century.

The age of Romanticism, when poets surpass politicians in setting agendas; the distinction between civil and ethnic nationalism; the 19th-century revolutions that sweep across the region; how defeat in these revolutions pave the way for empires.

Conservative politicians co-opt nationalism in support of empire-building; the stirrings of nationalism within the Russian, German and Austrian empires; emerging political ideologies that lay the foundation for the world wars of the 20th century.

The story of small Jewish towns called shtetls is significantly lost to history due to the crimes of the 20th century; Professor Liulevicius reconstructs what is known about life in these communities; how they connect to modern Jewish culture.

Examining World War I from the vantage of Eastern Europe; the war in the East is one of movement; it is perhaps even a cause for celebration as the old empires are destroyed; the creation of new states such as an independent Poland, among others.

Border wars and the fight for self-determination continue in the East; a look at major events after World War I; the little-known Soviet-Polish war; forcible population exchanges throughout the region; the rise of dictators.

Examining the Nazi-Soviet Pact; how it accommodates Hitler's and Stalin's plans for expansion in the 1930s and 1940s; how borders are redrawn yet again as Germany and the Soviet Union invade neighboring countries.

Studying World War II from an Eastern European perspective; how Hitler catches Stalin off guard with a surprise attack; Stalin has his own plans to expand the Soviet sphere of influence; communist partisans in the Balkans have other ideas.

Professor Liulevicius goes through the history of the Holocaust; learning about German goals and actions; Nazi collaborators who help produce the Holocaust; resistance from within the Jewish community and in the world at large.

After the war, Eastern Europe is chaotic; displaced populations shift among new political territories; the travails of some of these populations, including ethnic Germans, refugees from Soviet rule and Jews who cannot return to their communities.

Professor Liulevicius sets the stage for the next 40 years of Eastern European history; going behind the Iron Curtain to see how Stalin exerts control; how countries such as Yugoslavia are able to resist; the battle lines are drawn for the Cold War.

The Baltic Forest War rages in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for many years after World War II; learning about the guerrilla fighters who hide in the forests and attack Soviet security forces; examining the Soviet tactics used to stop them.

Daily life in Eastern Europe during the peak of the Cold War; reviewing the region's economy; the apparatus of state control; how secret police forces such as the East German Stasi and the Romanian Securitate oppress ordinary citizens.

Dissident voices emerge as Soviet forces tighten their grip on Eastern European countries during the Cold War; the revolt of proletarian workers in East Germany, Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia; how writers protest totalitarianism.

The end of Eastern European communism begins with the firing of a shipyard worker in Gdansk; this leads to a workers uprising and the Solidarity political movement; diving into these events; meeting key players who alter the course of history.

Tracing the events leading up to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the breakup of the Soviet Union; these include the newly free elections in Poland; the botched press release in East Germany that leads to the opening of borders.

Eastern Europe in the wake of the communist collapse; the region's economy; the secrets that emerge with the fall of the USSR and the release of Stasi files; the shift of identity that takes place thanks to redrawn borders and new national entities.

In the 1990s, Yugoslavia erupts into a civil war between ethnic groups; unpacking the many sides of this conflict, from its origins to ethnic cleansing, genocide and the country's breakup into separate countries; the world's response to this crisis.

NATO begins to admit newly liberated Eastern European countries into its organization; Eastern Europe's place in the western world; what joining NATO and the European Union means for the region; exploring Russia's role in the post-Soviet world.

Surveying the crisis in Ukraine; how the origins of this conflict stem from the last hundred years of the region's history; after providing the historical context, Professor Liulevicius explains the ins and outs of the crisis.

Revisiting the four key themes; whether they remain true of Eastern Europe today; looking at the region's economy, politics, ethnicities, and relationships to Western Europe to consider its current state; what the future may hold.