In this episode we will examine decolonization and the Cold War. We will assess the aftermath of World War II and how it contributed to the end of the colonial era and the beginning of the Cold War era.

• What impact did WWII have on the colonies of Western European powers?

• What was it about how WWII ended that contributed to the beginning of the Cold War? Were there any pre existing tensions that might also have been a factor?

• Why was the spread of liberal democracy and the birth of the welfare state results of WWII?

• How did Germany’s economic resurgence after WWII actually produce greater international cooperation?

• What was the Truman Doctrine, and how would it lead to a policy of “containment”?

• What were the major real world manifestations of the policy of “containment”?

• What were the main goals of the USSR after WWII?

• In what sense was the Cold War a reconfigured colonial era?

• What was the significance of the Berlin Wall, in both a literal and metaphorical sense?

• Why is it important to distinguish between Stalinism and the Soviet Union?

• Why did the Soviet Union appear to be so successful into the 1980s? Why was its collapse not foreseen?

00:00:00 Question 1

00:02:35 Question 2

00:05:13 Question 3

00:06:58 Question 4

00:08:33 Question 5

00:09:40 Question 6

00:11:17 Question 7

00:12:38 Question 8

00:14:45 Question 9

00:16:37 Question 10

00:21:15 Question 11