9781422277706

Residents of East and West Berlin cross though the Berlin Wall at Potsdamer Platz, November 1989. The fall of the Wall—built in the early 1960s by the Communist government of East Berlin—showed that the Cold War was ending with the collapse of communism. East and West Germany reunited as a single nation in 1990, and the Soviet Union itself ceased to exist in December 1991, breaking into 15 separate states.

Words to Understand in This Chapter

autocratic— describing a ruler or state with absolute power. constitution— a document that contains the system of fundamental laws and principles that determines the nature, functions, and limits of a government. parliament— a legislative assembly or lawmaking body. republic— a representative democracy in which representatives elected by the peo-

ple (and not the people themselves) vote on legislation. tyranny— absolute rule by a single person; dictatorship.