Europe experienced numerous geographic changes during the 20th century. Major events such as World War I, World War II, and the Cold War produced enough upheaval to eliminate powerful empires and create new nations while dividing others. For this task, you will document the geographic changes that occurred in the 20th century to a present-day European country of your choice. Select one of the three nations listed below, and recall how its current borders came to be by reviewing its history:

Germany
Czech Republic
Croatia
Recall what you have learned about the history of Europe during the 20th century, and gather material online about the country you chose.

Then, in two to three paragraphs, explain how the events of the 20th century led to geographic changes in the country.

Be sure to explain what was happening to the country as a result of World War I, World War II, the Cold War, and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Keep in mind that the country may not have existed at a particular time in the 20th century. If this is the case, explain what was happening at that time in the area where the present-day country is located.
Elaborate on how and why these major historical events changed the country.

Of course it could have been avoided. a great many scholars argue it happened because of truman's use of fear to gain support. his predecessor fdr was the most popular and charismatic president ever. truman was a machine politician chosen as the least offensive choice around for vp. had henry wallace remained vp and then president, the cold war might not have happened. or had dewey been defeated in the primaries by robert taft, and then taft defeated truman in 48, the cold war also might not have happened. taft was somewhat isolationist, opposing nato and the korean war. wallace believed truman to be unnecessarily provocative in his dealings with the soviets.of course for strong anti communists, they claim the soviets would see any sign of weakness and try to take over the world. but this is a conspiracy theory not backed by evidence. most communist movements were local and not controlled by moscow. stalin had just lost over 20 million people and was exhausted and paranoid. his number one fear was a rearmed germany allied with the us, and truman made his nightmare real with the marshall plan. truman's blunders are at least half responsible for the cold war and neither wallace nor taft would have made them.on top of that, stalin was dying and in poor health. his successor khrushchev was a reformer who ended the forced labor camps, set many political prisoners free, criticized stalin, and declined to build a powerful soviet navy to confront the us. stalin actually proposed a neutral united germany. a paranoid american gov't turned him down, guaranteeing a continued cold war for decades more.