ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Collapse of Communism

Ok kiddo, so back in the olden days, there were a bunch of countries called "communist" because their governments had this idea that everyone should be equal and share everything. But that didn't always work out well. See, the people who were in charge of these countries weren't always very nice to the regular folks who lived there. They would take away their rights and their freedoms and make it hard for them to live happy lives.

In the 1980s, there were some big changes happening in the world. People were getting tired of communism and wanted more freedom. They started protesting and speaking out against their governments. This made the people in charge of these communist countries really scared and they got really harsh with their own citizens.

But things couldn't stay like that forever. Finally, in 1989, something amazing happened. The Berlin Wall, which separated the communist side of Germany from the free side, came down. This was a big symbol of the end of communism, because it meant that people were finally getting the freedom they had been fighting for.

Over the next few years, one by one, other countries that were communist started to fall apart too. The leaders who had been in charge for so long were overthrown and people started to get more rights and freedoms. This was a big deal because it meant that people all around the world could start to live better lives with more choices and opportunities. It wasn't an easy process, but it was definitely an important one. And that's what we mean when we talk about the collapse of communism.