Countries of Eastern Europe Poland Czech Republic Slovakia Hungary Romania Slovenia Croatia Bosnia Yugoslavia Bulgaria Albania Macedonia

Cultural Crossroads Because this region is an important crossroads between Asia and Europe, many world powers have controlled it. Over the years, this area has been controlled by several powers including, the Roman, the Ottoman and the Austrian Empires.

Slavs The ethnic term for many of the people of Eastern Europe is the Slavs. They are called this because of the hundreds of years they were enslaved by various empires. They eventually just became known as Slavs, which means Slaves. When you hear the term Slavs, or Slavic countries, you know the history of these people is one of slavery.

Balkanization Responding to centuries of foreign rule, most ethnic groups in Eastern Europe fiercely guarded their identities. Many wanted their own nation-states, even though they had never had self-rule. Balkanization – process of a region breaking up into small, mutually hostile units.

War after War By 1908, Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, Romania, and Serbia had broken free from the Ottoman Empire. By 1913, these nations fought each other to determine who would control the territories formerly controlled by the Ottoman Empire During World War 1 ( ), Serbia fought Austria-Hungary for Slavic independence. Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Yugoslavia gained independence.

War after War In 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland and much of Eastern Europe and sparked the Second World War ( ). By 1945, the Soviet Union had crushed Nazi Germany and occupied many Eastern European countries to form satellite nations. Countries taken over by the Soviet Union became a part of the Iron Curtain. In 1945, Josip Broz Tito became dictator of Yugoslavia.

Civil War Communist governments taught people to be loyal to the Communist government. After communism fell in the early 1990s, people returned to their ethnic loyalties. Instability followed. This was especially true in Yugoslavia, a nation consisting of six republics. These republics trying to break into independent nations caused civil war. Czechoslovakia peacefully split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The Wars of the 1990s Many civil wars followed the breakup of the former Yugoslavia War in Slovenia (1991)‏ Croatian War of Independence ( )‏ Bosnian War ( )‏ Kosovar War ( )‏ Southern Serbian Conflict ( )‏ Macedonian Conflict (2001)‏