How the Modern Borders of Europe Were Created

The map of Europe looks permanent today, but almost every line on it has a history. For centuries, Europe was dominated not by the countries we recognize today, but by kingdoms, dynasties, and enormous multiethnic empires. Then came revolutions, nationalism, the unification of Germany and Italy, the collapse of the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires, two world wars, the Cold War, and finally the breakup of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. In this documentary, we trace how more than two centuries of war, diplomacy, nationalism, imperial collapse, population movements, and political negotiation created the borders of modern Europe. From the Congress of Vienna to Versailles, from the destruction of Nazi Germany to the fall of the Berlin Wall, this is the story of how the map of Europe became the one we know today. Hashtags #EuropeanHistory #History #Europe #Geopolitics #WorldHistory #EuropeanBorders #WorldWar1 #WorldWar2 #ColdWar #OttomanEmpire #AustroHungarianEmpire #SovietUnion #Yugoslavia #Germany #HistoryDocumentary Tags European history, history of Europe, borders of Europe, European borders explained, how Europe was formed, modern Europe, map of Europe, Europe map history, geopolitics, European geopolitics, World War 1, World War 2, Treaty of Versailles, Congress of Vienna, Ottoman Empire, Austro Hungarian Empire, German unification, Italian unification, Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Cold War, fall of Soviet Union, history documentary, animated history, European countries