Here are the Instructions:

Using six specific primary source document, you will produce your own collection of primary source document analyses, along with a synthetic central argument (that is, a broad observation and interpretation of the past based upon a collection of historical documents).

ASSIGNED SOURCES

1. Winston Churchill, “The Iron Curtain ” (1946)
2. Nikita Khrushchev, “Report to the Twentieth Party Congress ” (1956)
3. Paul-Henri Spaak, Why Nato? (1959)
4. Government of the German Democratic Republic, “What You Should Know About the Wall ” (1962)
5. Milovan Djilas, The New Class (1957)
6. Heda Margolius Kovály, Under a Cruel Star (1986)

REQUIREMENTS

Your document analysis assignment should use, or be modeled after, the assignment template , and should include each of the following required elements:

• Source Descriptions
  • In 3-4 sentences: A brief summary of each source (that’s six short summaries in total).
  • In 3-4 sentences: A sense of why each document is historically significant (that’s six short significances in total).
• Synthetic Central Argument
  • In 4-6 sentences: A thesis statement, or central argument, that suggests how the documents work as a body of historical evidence. In other words, how do these documents explain the origins, realities, and consequences for the Cold War in Europe? (Ex: “Examined together, these documents reveal…”).
    • NOTE: It should be pointed out, here, that I want you to think synthetically – that is, by taking a step back and telling me a story of change over time, without specific reference to any one primary source – rather than individually (or “Source X says, while Source Y says …”).

EVALUATION CRITERIA

You will be evaluated on (1) the accuracy of your summaries, (2) the thoughtfulness of your analysis of the importance of each document, and (3) your ability to make some preliminary arguments about how the documents work together as a body of historical evidence.