Jernteppe - definition of Jernteppe by The Free Dictionary Jernteppe - definition of Jernteppe by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Thesaurus , Encyclopedia , Wikipedia . iron curtain n. 1. often Iron Curtain The military, political, and ideological barrier established between the Soviet bloc and western Europe from 1945 to 1990. 2. A barrier that prevents free exchange of ideas and information: "That department and the editorial department are separated by an almost impenetrable iron curtain" (Brendan Gill). Iron Curtain n (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a. (formerly) the guarded border between the countries of the Soviet bloc and the rest of Europe b. (as modifier): Iron Curtain countries. i′ron cur′tain n. (sometimes caps.) a barrier to understanding and the exchange of information created by the hostility of one country toward another, esp. such a barrier between the Soviet Union or its allies and other countries. [1920–25] Iron Curtain The barrier, political and military, that was considered to separate the Soviet bloc from western Europe after World War II.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend: Noun 1. iron curtain - an impenetrable barrier to communication or information especially as imposed by rigid censorship and secrecy; used by Winston Churchill in 1946 to describe the demarcation between democratic and communist countries ideological barrier - a barrier to cooperation or interaction resulting from conflicting ideologies Translations What Was the Iron Curtain? (with pictures) What Was the Iron Curtain? Last Modified Date: 19 December 2016 Copyright Protected: Can you see through these real-life optical illusions? "Iron Curtain" is a term used to describe the boundary that separated the Warsaw Pact countries from the NATO countries from about 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The Iron Curtain was both a physical and an ideological division that represented the way Europe was viewed after World War II. To the east of the Iron Curtain were the countries that were connected to or influenced by the former Soviet Union. This included part of Germany (East Germany), Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, and Albania (until 1960 when it aligned with China).

While Yugoslavia was Communist politically it was not considered to be a part of the Eastern Bloc or behind the Iron Curtain. Josip Broz Tito, the president of Yugoslavia at the time, was able to maintain access with the west while leading a communist country. The other countries to the west of the Iron Curtain had democratic governments. Ad Although the term "Iron Curtain" was used in literature and politics earlier, it was made popular by Winston Churchill , who used it publicly in a speech in March of 1946. The term was first used to refer to the actual metal barrier that cut the continent in two, but it soon became a reference to the ideological barrier also. When Churchill first referred to the barrier he wasn't trying to emulate the words of others. In a telegram directed to US President Harry S. Truman, Churchill spoke about the European situation and said "An iron curtain is drawn down upon their front. We do not know what is going on behind." This was his first official mention of the term Iron Curtain. The Iron Curtain fence stretched for thousands of kilometers to separate Eastern and Western countries, and it was especially strong in Germany, where the Berlin Wall became an unmistakable symbol of the Iron Curtain division.

In certain regions, the Iron Curtain was nothing more than a plain chain link fence, when in other places it was a highly guarded area which only people carrying special government permissions could approach. There are Iron Curtain monuments that stand as a reminder of a long-gone era. One is located in the Czech Republic and includes an original guard tower with signs explaining the origins and reasons for the Iron Curtain. The second monument, a simple tribute, is located in Bratislava, Slovakia. Ad Winston Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech and Why He Gets Misquoted SHARE George Skadding—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty British Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivers a speech at Westminster College that addressed the Communist threat, and in which he uttered the now-famous phrase 'Iron Curtain,' Fulton, Mo., Mar. 5, 1946. On the anniversary of his famous speech, TIME takes a look at why people misattribute quotes and just plum make them up Exactly 69 years ago, on Mar. 5, 1946, Winston Churchill stood in a college gymnasium in Fulton, Mo., at the beginning of the Cold War, while President Harry S. Truman sat behind him in a gown and mortarboard.

Speaking to students gathered at Westminster College, he accepted an honorary degree and famously condemned the Soviet Union’s ways: “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.” The actual title of Churchill’s speech was “Sinews of Peace,” though most people know it as the “Iron Curtain speech.” Over the years there has been another twist of the record. Churchill often gets credit for coining that metallic metaphor—on that stage—for the figurative barrier drawn across Europe between the capitalist West and the communist East. But he did not. In fact, there’s evidence of the phrase being used to mean exactly that a good 26 years earlier when an E. Snowden (seriously) published a travelogue about her adventures in Bolshevik Russia. So why do quotes get false histories? Lots of reasons. Misattribution can be convenient. It’s easy not to question a coinage that it seems plausible—especially when it just so happens to give us good gravitas by association. “You reach for a famous name to give authority,” says Elizabeth Knowles, editor of the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. “You want to say Churchill said it.

Because you have associated what you’re saying with that particular person, it gives the saying a bit more oomph.” Iron curtain just feels like something a dulcet, witty orator like Churchill would come up with, right? And it’s a much clearer signal that you’re educated and that your words have heft if you attribute a quote to Winston Churchill than to Snowden, an unremembered member of a trade-union delegation. Many times people invoke quotations that were never said at all. “Play it again, Sam.” Neither Bogart nor Bergman said these words. “Elementary, my dear Watson.” Doyle wrote no such thing. “Beam me up, Scotty.” Sorry, nope. These get passed on because we wish people had uttered them. “A misquotation of that kind can be, almost, what you feel somebody ought to have said,” says Knowles. “It summarizes for somebody something very important about a particular film, a particular relationship, a particular event.” Even if it’s made up and especially if it’s close to things people really did say, we embrace it as gospel. After all, Bergman did utter, “Play it, Sam,” in Casablanca.

And Bogart did say, “If she can stand it, I can! Play it!” Sometimes misquotations get handed down because they convey the right idea and sound better to us than what the person actually said. In 1858, Abraham Lincoln gave a speech in which he said, “To give victory to the right, not bloody bullets, but peaceful ballots only, are necessary.” Over time, that sentiment been recrafted as, “The ballot is stronger than the bullet.” The latter version is snazzier. Even when sources know this precise phrasing was probably never really used by Lincoln, they continue to pass it on. Take Dictionary.com’s quotes site , where the well-sourced quote from 1858 is in the fine print. Also in fine print is the admission that the quote in giant font across the top of the page was “reconstructed” 40 years after Lincoln was supposed to have said it. Which, as far as editors at Oxford are concerned, he did not. Screen shot taken from Dictionary.com “It’s a very natural thing, that we edit as we remember,” Knowles says. “So when we quote something we very often have in mind the gist of what’s being said.

So we may alter it slightly and we may just make it slightly pithier or simpler for someone else to remember. And that’s the form that gets passed on.” While it may be easier to remember that Churchill invented the iron curtain, here’s the real history: In its earliest use, circa 1794, an “iron curtain” was a literal iron screen that would lowered in a theater to protect the audience and auditorium from any fire occurring backstage. From there, it became a general metaphor for an impenetrable barrier. In 1819, the Earl of Muster described the Indian river Betwah as an iron curtain that protected his group of travelers from an “avenging angel” of death that had been on their heels in that foreign land. Then, in 1920, Ethel Snowden made it specifically about the East and West in Throughout Bolshevik Russia (1920): At last we were to enter the country where the Red Flag had become a national emblem, and was flying over every public building in the cities of Russia. The thought thrilled like new wine … We were behind the ‘iron curtain’ at last! Read TIME’s original coverage of the Mar.

5, 1946, speech, here in the TIME Vault: This Sad & Breathless Moment Cold War 1945-1960 COLD WAR 1945-1960 A. INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS THE 'COLD WAR'? Cold War is the conflict between the Communist nations led by the Soviet Union and the democratic nations led by the United States. It is fought by all means - propaganda, economic war, diplomatic haggling and occasional military clashes. It is fought in all places - in neutral states, in newly independent nations in Africa, Asia and even in outer space. The historians have so far not reached any agreement on the time in which the Cold War began. It is, however, quite safe to say that since 1947 when President Truman of the United States declared an anti-communist policy, the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union has begun. There were deep-rooted ideological, economic and political differences between the United States and the Soviet Union before the Second World War. These differences were intensified as a result of their mutual suspicions immediately after the Second World War.

(1) Underlying Causes (i) Ideological: The United States and the Soviet Union represent two opposing systems of government. In the United States, the government is elected by free elections. The people can form political parties to voice their political opinions. They also possess the right of assembly, of speech and of the press. In the Soviet Union, the government is formed by the Communist Party. The people do not have the right to form their own political parties. They do not enjoy the right of assembly, of speech and of the press. Since these two systems of government are diametrically opposed to one another, there can be little compromise between the United States and the Soviet Union. (ii) Economic: The United States wanted to encourage free trade throughout the world. The Soviet Union wanted to shield off her own sphere from international commerce. Russia feared that trade with the West would involve the risk of Russia being opened to western influences which would have eroded the strength of the totalitarian regime. These differences led to much ill feeling between the United States and the Soviet Union. (iii) Power rivalry: After the Second World War, with the decline of Europe, power was largely shared between the Soviet Union and the United States.

As one wanted 'to dominate the other, conflicts were inevitable. Map - Europe in 1947 ( Magnify the map ) (2) Immediate Causes Leading to the Cold War Incipient conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States began at the peace-time conferences. Their conflict was intensified after President Truman declared the Truman Doctrine and launched the Marshall Plan in 1947. (i) Extension of Russian influence in Europe: Even before the end of the war, the Soviet Union had gradually extended her influence in Europe. By the fall of 1944, the Red Army had liberated and controlled a large part of eastern Europe. By 1945, at the Yalta Conference, the Soviet Union obtained the Curzon Line as her new boundary line with Poland and also the control of the eastern zone of Germany. As the war was drawing to a close in May 1945, the Soviet Union quickly consolidated her control of eastern Europe. The Red Army began by influencing the post-war elections. They intimidated the voters and changed the voting lists as they desired. Although the non-communists could still gain some votes, most of the votes went to the communists.

Thus the coalition governments formed immediately after the war were largely dominated by the communists. Two of the key ministries - Defence and Military (Police) - were always under communist control. Stalin was not satisfied with communist control of eastern Europe. In the meantime, he encouraged the communists to take an active part in the immediate post-war elections in western Europe. In late 1946, the French and Italian Communists were becoming the most powerful parties in France and Italy. (ii) The reactions of the United States: Despite the increasing Russian influence in eastern and central Europe, many politicians in the United States were optimistic about the chances of co-operation with the Soviet Union after the war and did not advocate strong resistance against Russian expansion. But from May 1945 onwards, the situation was changed. The U.S. government favoured a policy of strong resistance against Russia. The first reason was that President Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945. He was succeeded by Harry S. Truman. President Roosevelt was an optimistic man. He seemed to have believed that although eastern Europe had fallen under the influence of Russia, she would keep her promise (made at Yalta) by setting up freely-elected parliamentary governments in the area.

So Roosevelt did not advocate strong resistance against Russian expansion. The new President, Truman, was a complete contrast to Roosevelt. He did not believe the communists. He thought that the communists would not set up democratic governments in eastern Europe. He also believed that after the Soviet Union had established her control in eastern Europe, she would continue to extend her influence into western Europe. Thus President Truman favoured a policy of strong resistance against Russian expansion. The second reason was that just before the Potsdam Conference was to take place, the United States had successfully exploded her atomic bomb. President Truman thought that since the United States alone possessed the atomic bomb, she could adopt a stiff attitude towards Russian expansion in Europe. The third reason was that President Truman was disgusted at the non-co-operative attitude of the Russians at the Potsdam Conference. Russia was determined to exact heavy reparations from Germany. Russia also accused the British of upholding a reactionary monarchy in Greece and supporting an Italian Fascist regime in Trieste. Stalin also blocked Truman's proposal on the internationalization of all principal waterways. (iii) Poor relations between the United States and the Soviet Union: The deteriorating relations between the Soviet Union and the United States were reflected in two minor incidents in the year.

Land-Lease was abruptly terminated by the United States and the Russian request for American economic aid for the purposes of post-war reconstruction was ignored by the government of the United States. (During the Second World War, the U.S. supplied much war material to the Allied nations through a Lend and Lease programme. As the Lend and Lease programme was suddenly stopped, the war-ravaged Soviet Union could not obtain American material support to help her post-war economic reconstruction.) The poor relations between the East and West were also reflected in a speech by Churchill. In March 1946, Churchill made a speech at Fulton, Missouri in which he said, "From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent .... Behind that line lie all the capitals of the central and eastern Europe - all are subject in one form or another not only to Soviet influence but also to a very high and increasing control from Moscow." The Fulton speech increased the American suspicion of Soviet aggressive designs in Europe. C.

Beginning of the Cold War The American alarm of Russian expansion in Europe greatly increased when Britain declared on February 24, 1947 that she could no longer give the much-needed financial and military aid to the Greek government which was in danger of being overthrown by the communist guerillas. Another country threatened by Russian-directed communist guerillas was Turkey. America did not have any doubt about the great increase in power which domination over Greece and Turkey would give to Russia. (Both Turkey and Greece had a population composed largely of poor peasants. These two countries were liberated by Anglo-American troops from German control in 1944. After the liberation, the communist guerillas in these two countries threatened to overthrow their governments. The communist guerillas received military aid from Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. The government of Greece received military support from the British government.) See additional information below. On March 12, 1947, President Truman enunciated the Truman Doctrine. The essence of the Doctrine was that "it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressure." This was clearly an anti-communist doctrine.

This amounted to an American declaration of war upon Communist Russia. President Truman followed his speech with massive military and economic aid to Greece and Turkey. (The communist guerillas were defeated by the American troops in 1948 in both Greece and Turkey.) The U.S. government also realized that a prosperous Europe would be the most effective barrier to Communism. On June 4, 1947, the U.S. Secretary of State, George Marshall, speaking at the Harvard University, stated that, "It is logical that the United States should do whatever it is able to do to assist in the return of normal economic health in the world, without which there can be no political stability and no assured peace." Immediately after the speech the United States invited all European countries to put forward plans for economic reconstruction so that the United States would provide the necessary financial aid to them. The Soviet Union refused to accept the American financial aid. The first reason was that the state which applied for Marshall Aid was required to disclose her economic records to the American government - this was regarded by the Soviet Union as an American interference in the internal affairs of another state.

The second reason was that receiving American aid would involve the risk of opening the Soviet Union to western influences which would weaken the totalitarian system of government. (In the eyes of the Soviet Union, the United States was giving economic aid to all European countries to make them anti-communist. Shortly after the proclamation of the Marshall Plan, Andrei Zhdanov, one of Stalin's lieutenants, said, "The United States proclaimed a new, frankly predatory and expansionist course. The purpose of this new frankly expansionist course is to establish the world supremacy of American imperialism.") Because of these two reasons, the Soviet Union also forbade her satellite countries (the eastern European countries) to accept Marshall Aid. In 1949, Russia tried to counter the Marshal Plan -by offering financial aid to her satellites under the Molotov Plan. With the proclamation of the Truman Doctrine of March 1947 and the launching of the Marshall Plan, the United States was clearly leading the western nations to resist Russian Communist expansionist activities in Europe. Cold War had begun.

>> Top There is some misleading information, according to Ozlem Gokakin : The American alarm of Russian expansion in Europe greatly increased when Britain declared on February 24, 1947 that she could no longer give the much-needed financial and military aid to the Greek government, which was in danger of being overthrown by the communist guerillas. Another country threatened by Russian-directed communist guerillas was Turkey. America did not have any doubt about the great increase in power which domination over Greece and Turkey would give to Russia. (Both Turkey and Greece had a population composed largely of poor peasants. These two countries were liberated by Anglo-American troops from German control in 1944. After the liberation, the communist guerillas in these two countries threatened to overthrow their governments. The communist guerillas received military aid from Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. The government of Greece received military support from the British government.) On March 12, 1947, President Truman enunciated the Truman Doctrine. The essence of the Doctrine was that "it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressure." This was clearly an anti-communist doctrine.

This amounted to an American declaration of war upon Communist Russia. President Truman followed his speech with massive military and economic aid to Greece and Turkey. (The communist guerillas were defeated by the American troops in 1948 in both Greece and Turkey.) During World War II, the Nazi (German) forces have never occupied Turkey. Yes, it is true that Turkey was exposed to a German attack even after the German defeat at Stalingrad. There are claims that Hitler intended to occupy Turkey in his war plan maps with the aim of making his attack on Russia through Turkey from south but he decided to attack Russia directly earlier than it was expected. Turkey against the allied pressure did not enter the war and remained neutral until the very end. It only symbolically declared war on Germany in February 1945. Turkey strictly tried to stay out of the conflict. As Turkey never entered the war and never been occupied, it is impossible to say that it is liberated by Anglo-American forces in 1944. In fact, it was Greece, which was occupied and saved by the Anglo-American Forces in 1944. By June 1941, Greece came under triple occupation Bulgaria, Germany, and Italy.

The Germans controlled all the most critical cities: Athens, Thessalonica, Crete, the Thracian border zone with Turkey, and a number of the Aegean Islands. The Bulgarians got control of Thrace and most of Macedonia. The Italians occupied the rest of Greece. Indeed, the Italians were the principal occupying power, until the Italian armistice of 1943. The Greeks with the help of the Anglo-American special forces resisted against occupying forces. Resistance movement in Greece was not an organized move, it was rather a spontaneous movement organized and carried out by individuals who belonged to different and sometimes competing ideologies. For example, resistance force under the command of Colonel Napoleon Zervas (EDES) was based on pre war army tactics. He organized the remaining Greek units in the mountains of Greece and received support from the British Special Operations Executive (SOE). After liberation, Greece entered into a civil war between 1942-1949.

It can even be said that the Second World War and the Axis occupation provided the causes for the rise of the Greek Communists and the Greek Communist Party (KKE), which was outlawed and persecuted under the rule of General Metaxas between 1936 and 1941, fulfilled the political power vacuum of the occupation and resistance years. The increasing role of Greek communists and the growing ties between KKE and Moscow created a cause of concern for the US and Britain. The Soviet government also tried to stir up a communist revolution in Turkey on its southern border.This led to the declaration of Truman Doctrine. It was the Greek communists who received military aid first from Yugoslavia (Tito) and later from the Soviet Union while the government of Greece received support from the British not the Turkish communists. In your wording it looks as if both countries went through exactly the same experience: the Nazi occupation, liberation by US-British troops and the communist threat of takeover thwarted by American troops.

It is true to say that Turkish government was also threatened by a communist takeover in those years, but if you read the books on Turkish history and carefully analyze the historical facts you will see that through close cooperation with the US administration, and with the US financial aid, the Turkish government ruled out the possibility of a communist takeover. Finally by entering into NATO in 1952, Turkey placed itself safely in the Western Camp against the Soviet Union. There was no American military forces or troops directly fighting against the communists in Turkey. In fact there was no foreign military personnel stationed in Turkey in those years. Only after its adherence to NATO, the US-NATO military bases were opened in Turkey and foreign military personnel (and Jupiter missiles) were stationed in the Turkish territory. In addition the communists in Turkey could not be called “guerrillas?as in Greece. The Turkish communists were organized under “Turkish Socialist Workers and Peasants party?led by Dr. Sefik Husnu Degmer in 1946 but in December 1946 with martial law the communist and socials parties were closed down. The Democratic Party government carried out a witch-hunt against the left between 1948-49.

There had been skirmishes between some government forces and communists in Turkey and sabotages carried out by communists in the country but not exactly a guerilla warfare or civil war. This happened in later stages towards the end of 1970s and early 1980s. This is a misreading of history. However, in the case of Greece the British Special Forces and the American ones were directly involved in the resistance and in the civil war. Through British guidance and help the Greeks were able to liberate themselves from Nazi occupation. In the later stages the British policies led both to the breaking of the civil war, and to the prolongation of the war. But at the end with good diplomatic manoeuvres complemented by the US support, the British succeeded in achieving their policies in Greece. With the beginning of the Cold War, the US determined to prevent the Soviet expansion, viewed the developments in Greece as the handiwork of Moscow, and the Truman administration decided to support the British/the Greek government in their fight against the KKE/DAG. The US announced the Truman Doctrine in March 1947.

The US Congress agreed to provide an emergency aid of 400 million US dollars to Greece, with later continued with the Marshall Plan. Between 1946 and 1949 the US transferred $1 billion for military and economic reconstruction of the Greek government. In addition, the US sent a group of advisers and military personnel under General James van Fleet to Greece for training and supporting the Greek national army. For more detailed information please see: For Turkey during World War II: - Zürcher, Erik J. Turkey - A Modern History, London- New York, I. B. Tauris & Co Ltd, 1993. - Shaw, Stanford J., Turkey and the Holocaust: Turkey's Role in Rescuing Turkish and European Jewry from Nazi Persecution During the Holocaust, 1933-45, (New York: Palgrave, 1993).

- Shaw, Stanford J., and Ezel Kural Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey: Volume 2, Reform, Revolution and Republic: The Rise of Modern Turkey, 1808-1975: Reform, Revolution and Republic, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1977). For Greece under occupation and during the civil war: - Clogg, Richard, A Concise History of Greece, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992). - Close, David H. The Origins of the Greek Civil War, (England: Longman, 1995). - Mazower, Mark, Inside Hitler's Greece: The Experience of Occupation, 1941-44, (Nota Bene Series), (US & UK : Yale University Press, 2001). - Vlavianos, Haris, Greece, 1941-49: From Resistance to Civil War ?The Strategy of the Greek Communist Party, (Oxford: Macmillan, 1992). Ozlem Gokakin, No part of the world escaped the effects of the Cold War.

But up to 1949 the Cold War was mainly confined to Europe and the chief arena was in Germany. (1) Return to Parliamentary Democracy in the West When the Cold War began, relations between the East and the West became critically strained. Both the United States and the Soviet Union tried to tighten their control over their 'satellites' within their own spheres of influence. In April 1947, the Communist Party was declared illegal in West Germany. In May 1947, the communist ministers were dismissed from the coalition governments in Italy and France. In April 1948, the United States government intervened in the Italian election. The American diplomats urged the Italian voters to support the Christian Democratic Party and threatened that if the Communist Party won the election, America would stop her financial aid to Italy. The result was that the Christian Democrats won most of the votes in the election and became the ruling party. (2) Soviet Control of Eastern Europe In the meantime, Stalin. also intervened in the domestic politics of the eastern European countries. In May 1947, Ference Nagy, the democratically elected Prime Minister of Hungary, was forced to flee for his life.

In June 1947, Petkov, a leading opponent of Soviet domination in Bulgaria, was arrested and hanged. One month later, Bulgaria was declared a People's Republic. In October, Mikolajczyk, leader of the democratic Peasant Party in Poland, was forced to flee to the west. In November 1947, Maniu, the 74 year-old head of the Rumanian Peasant Party, was imprisoned and in December Rumania was proclaimed a People's Republic. The most flagrant example that showed how the Russians disposed of political dissenters took place in Czechoslovakia. The Czech government had followed an independent course in both foreign and domestic affairs - to steer a middle course between tile East and the West. (In foreign affairs, the Czech government sided with the Soviet Union. In domestic affairs, the Czech government tried to give some democratic rights to the people as it had done in the inter-war years.) To assist her economic reconstruction, the Czech government even desired to accept Marshall Aid in spite of Russian objection. In February 1948, the Soviet Union desired to kill the Czech's desire for independence. A coup d'etat was carried out in Prague.

Stalin ordered the Czech Communists to arrest the leading figures of the democratic parties. A pro-Russian government under the Communist leader, Gottwald, was soon established. The western nations regarded the forceful seizure of power in Czechoslovakia as a symbol of 'Russian aggression'. They feared that Russia would soon use force to overthrow the other democratic governments in Europe. In September 1947, the Soviet Union established the Communist Information Bureau (the Cominform). The Bureau was not only to spread communist propaganda to all European countries but also to co-ordinate the activities of the member communist parties in their struggle against 'Anglo-American imperialism'. It also supported the strikes of the workers in France and Italy. Consequently the western nations had increasing fear of Communist conquest of the world. By 1948, the only country in eastern Europe outside direct Soviet control was Yugoslavia. Here the liberation from the Nazis had been achieved not by the Red Army but by a local communist partisan movement, whose members subsequently occupied major military and police posts, The head of the partisan movement, Tito, had been trained in Moscow. Though a Russian-trained communist, he refused to be a Russian puppet.

In 1947-48, Tito made it clear that Yugoslavia would not subordinate her economy to that of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union immediately ordered her satellites in eastern Europe to stop their trade with Yugoslavia. The Soviet Union also tried to create conflicts among the Yugoslav Communist Party leaders. When all these failed, Stalin expelled Yugoslavia from the Cominform in June 1948. The conflict between Yugoslavia and Russia led to a great fear among the western nations that in the near future, Russia would use force to unseat' the government of Yugoslavia and if that was successful, Russia would even order the Red Army to advance into western Europe. (3) The Berlin Crisis - the Climax of the Conflict between the East and the West in Europe While the western nations were anxious about their own security, Russia stopped all land traffic between Berlin and West Germany. The western nations took this move as the first of a series of Russian attempts to force them to withdraw first from Germany and then from Europe. They were determined to resist and war nearly resulted. This was the well-known Berlin Crisis. The Berlin Crisis marked the climax of the conflict between the East and the West.

The origins of that conflict can be traced back to the year 1945. (i) Early conflict (1945) The Yalta Conference and the Potsdam Conference had laid down some principles concerning the immediate post-war treatment of Germany; but as soon as these principles were carried out, the western nations and the Soviet Union came into conflict because both sides had different interpretations of the principles. In accordance with the Potsdam agreement Germany was treated as a single economic unit. Russia would obtain as reparations a proportion of the industrial products currently produced by Germany industry in the western zones; and in return the Russian-controlled eastern zone would deliver food and raw materials to the western zones. (The eastern zone was an agricultural region. The western zones were an industrial region. Russia was to receive the industrial products in the western zones because German armies had destroyed the Russian industries severely.) But Russia wanted to exploit the economic resources of the eastern zone as much as possible and did not supply the western zones with food. So the Americans did not deliver any industrial products to the eastern zone. Thereafter the western occupying powers and Russia handled economic affairs in their zones independently.

In accordance with the Potsdam agreement, the 4 occupying powers also agreed to destroy the Nazi system and to prepare the way for democracy in Germany. To the west, denazification meant that only those persons who had taken an active part in the Nazi regime were to be punished. To the Russians, denazification meant that punishment should be meted out not only to individuals but to the whole bourgeois class, because bourgeois capitalism was regarded as the base for the rise of Nazism. The western, nations concluded that Soviet Russia was not only punishing the Nazis, but they were creating a new-regime ruled by a new class the workers "-d the peasants. Because both sides had carried out different policies in their own occupation zones, they became increasingly suspicious of each other's designs in Europe. (ii) Economic conflict (1946): In order to revive West Germany economically as soon as possible, the American and the British governments permitted the West German industries to raise their levels of production. Russia immediately feared that West Germany would re-emerge as a powerful supporter of the western countries. In December 1946, Russian fear increased when the British and Americans formed 'Bizonia' by putting together their two zones for economic purposes.

(In June 1948 France agreed to co-operate with the British and the Americans and so converted 'Bizonia' into 'Trizonia'.) The Americans and the British also intended to cut down the German reparations, expand the German industries, adopt a uniform system for railway and other services and restore the German industrial production to the pre-war level. (iii) Increasing suspicion ( 1947): With enunciation of the Truman Doctrine and the launching of the Marshall Plan, (The United States declared to include West Germany in the Marshall Plan.) the Russians felt the U.S. was launching an anti-communist campaign against Soviet Russia. (iv) Diplomatic conflict (1949): In February 1948, Russia responded to the pressures of the Cold War by putting forward her claim for the whole of Berlin within her zone. The Russian. claim met with a strong reaction in the Wepst. The United States, Britain, France -and the Benelux countries made a London Agreement in June 1948. They declared that they would form a democratic West German Government in the western zones. In the eyes of the Soviet Union, the U.S.

was trying to make West Germany an anti-Soviet military spearhead against her. (v) Confrontation over Berlin (June 1948): The hostile relations between the Soviet Union and the United States before 1948 had made the Berlin crisis, inevitable. The currency reform carried out by the western powers in 1948 immediately produced the Berlin crisis. The aim of the western powers was to introduce a new currency in order to revive the Germany economy. (Since the end of the war, shortage of food and other necessities led to inflation in Germany (i.e. selling of food and other scarce goods at inflated prices). The amount of money in circulation rose enormously in the post-war years, and the German marks became valueless. Currency reform was an essential step to recreate financial stability in Germany.) The Soviet Union thought differently. She thought that if the currency reform in West Germany was successful, West Germany would become a strong power, threatening Russia's position in East Germany. When the new currency was introduced to West Berlin, the Soviet Union replied by cutting land communications between West Berlin and the western German zones. Thus began the blockade of Berlin on June 24, 1948.

Two million citizens in the western sectors of Berlin seemed likely to be starved to death. The Americans regarded the blockade as a Russian attempt to force the withdrawal of the western powers from West Berlin, to consolidate the Soviet control of central and eastern Europe, to frustrate the Marshall Plan and to encourage the communist parties in western Europe. In short, this was regarded as an overt sign of Communist aggression. General Clay, the Military Governor of the American zone, said, "When Berlin falls, West Germany will be next." He thought that the U.S. should fight a war with Russia. Although France refused to use force (because she was economically weak), the western nations agreed that they could not give way in West Berlin. They decided to airlift food supplies to the starving million in West Berlin. Every transport plane available in France, Britain and the U.S. was used to transport to West Berlin provisions and materials of every kind. In winter, flying conditions were dangerous -planes often crashed. Even this did not daunt the air-lift organizers. Day and night air-lift went on. This showed the strong determination of the western nations to resist Russian Communism. In the meantime, the U.S.

formed an anti-communist military alliance with the western nations - the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. On May 9, 1949, Stalin realized that he could not force the withdrawal of western nations from West Berlin. He admitted defeat by lifting the Berlin Blockade. (vi) Significance of the blockade: (a) It was clear that the western powers would resist with great determination any Russian attempt to dominate Central Europe. They had upheld the Western sectors of Berlin by a vast and costly airlift. (b) Though Stalin lifted the blockade, the -western -powers failed to obtain Russian recognition of their rights of a land route to West Berlin. This meant that even in moments of defeat Russia was determined to show strength and determination. A repetition of the Berlin crisis was to be expected in the future. (c) Though both sides showed great determination to control their own zones, they would only go to war as a final resort. Both America and Russia possessed atomic bombs. (Russia had developed her atomic bomb in 1949.) A Third World War would be disastrous to both sides. (d) Soon after the crisis, it was understood that Germany would not be unified. The following September saw the setting up of a West German Federal Republic through free elections.

The Christian Democratic Party won most of the votes in the elections and Adenauer became the Chancellor. The capital of the Republic was at Bonn. In the following month (October), the Democratic People's Republic was set up under Russian auspices in East Germany. Ulbricht was the Prime Minister. (East and West Germany were separated by strong fortifications on both sides. Since 1961, in order to stop the East Germans crossing into West Berlin, East Germany built a high wall across Berlin.) (e) The Berlin Crisis was over but Russian influence over eastern and central Europe was not shaken. The suspicion of the western nations about Russian aggressions remained. E. Cold War in East Asia Meanwhile, events in East Asia moved to a critical stage. The tension of the Cold War seemed to have moved from Europe to East Asia. On October 1, 1949, the People's Republic, under Mao Zedong, was proclaimed in China. This Communist triumph was a great shock to the United States. Overnight, the Communist influence seemed to have extended into the very heart of Asia and onto the doorstep of occupied Japan.

The sheer physical size of Soviet Russia and China, and of their combined populations, gave a double threat to the American policy of containment. It was against this background that a full-scale war broke out in Korea. After the Second World War, Korea north of 38th parallel had been occupied by the Russians, while south of the 38th parallel by the Americans. As no agreement on a common government for the whole country had been reached, the Russians established a communist regime in North Korea and the Americans a western-oriented democracy in South Korea. Syngman Rhee was elected President of South Korea. On June 25, 1950 the North Korea troops began to invade South Korea. They attempted to unify Korea and set up a communist regime for the whole nation. American military leaders had become aware of the importance of a non-communist South Korea for the defence of Japan. When the Security Council of the United Nations condemned the North Korean aggression, on behalf of the United Nations, the United States sent large number of troops under General Douglas MacArthur to fight back the invading North Korean troops.

When the Americans advanced to the Yalu River, they met with the strong resistance of the Chinese Communist armies who drove the Americans back to the 38th parallel. The war ended in a virtual stalemate at the 38th parallel. Finally in July 1953, with the help of the United Nations, an armistice was arranged. It was agreed to restore the status quo ante: Korea remained divided along the 38th parallel. The effects of the Korean War were that (i) Korea was much devastated during the war, particularly North Korea; (ii) China was protected by a buffer state, North Korea, in her northeast; (iii) China and the Soviet Union became close allies after the war; (iv) the western nations had given military assistance to the United Nations to fight against aggression and the authority of the United Nations was upheld. The formation of the military alliances was the direct result of the tension between the East and the West produced by the Cold War.

(i) Treaty of Dunkirk (March 1947) and Treaty of Brussels (March 1948): Immediately after the Second World War, the western European nations felt threatened by the military power of the Soviet Union because she had emerged from the war stronger than she had been before it. She had an annexed population of about 23 millions and an annexed area of over 180,000 square miles. Moreover, she had more than 3 million men under arms. Undoubtedly, Russia became the strongest military power in Europe. In response to this military threat, Britain concluded a military alliance with France, known as the Treaty of Dunkirk. The chief purpose was to prevent future German aggression. It also provided for economic assistance and military co-operation against the political threat of the other aggressors, such as Russia. The Prague Coup of February 1948 gave new fear of the Russian threat. Bevin, the British Foreign Secretary, immediately called for greater economic and military co-operation among the western European countries. The Treaty of Dunkirk was broadened to include the Benelux countries - Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg - and they signed the Treaty of Brussels.

The Treaty of Brussels was not only a military alliance but also an ideological alliance. It provided for collective self-defence, economic and social collaboration in western Europe. (ii) The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (N.A.T.O.) (April 1949): The five western states were increasingly suspicious of the Russian intentions in Europe since the Berlin Blockade. The United States also wanted to find allies in Europe to contain communist expansion. On April 4, 1949, twelve nations - the United States, Canada, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Italy, Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington. (The Brussels Treaty was not dissolved.) The partners of the Treaty believed that Russian Communism, an anti-democratic ideology, had posed a new threat to the democratic world. Thus they stated that "an armed attack against one or more of them shall be considered an attack against them all." In the event of such an attack, for the preservation of peace and their civilized way of life, they promised to take whatever action deemed necessary, including the use of armed force. This regional security arrangement for the defence of the North Atlantic area was valid for 20 years.

As a result of this Treaty, the nations in western Europe were drawn together under American leadership. The headquarters of NATO known as SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters of Allied Powers in Europe) was established at Paris. The most important organization of the NATO was the Permanent Council. It was established in 1952. >> Top The Permanent Council was composed of representatives of all member states and was the decision-making organ of the N6rth Atlantic Treaty Organization. The decisions of the Council were made by unanimous agreement. The Council took up many functions. It planned not only for the military co-operation but also cultural and economic co-operation among its member states. To carry out these functions, many committees (such as the Financial and Economic Committee and the Defence and Military Committee and planning boards - such as the Regional planning groups) were set up. The NATO Secretariat was set up to do clerical work. The most important work of the Council remained to be military. The Defence and Military Committee was to be in charge of military affairs. It consisted of the Chiefs of Staffs of Britain, France and the United States. The Korean War made the western powers more anxious to strengthen their own defences through unity.

In 1950 an integrated force under the supreme command of General Eisenhower was set up, with Paris as its headquarters. This was the first attempt of the western nations to form an integrated force in Europe. Significance of the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization: (a) The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was an essential defensive organization against Communist aggression and a successful step towards European and trans-Atlantic co-operation. Soon after the formation of the NATO, the Berlin Blockade was lifted by the Soviet Union and there was no further advance of Communism in Europe (but not in Asia). Many other efforts at co-operation among the western European countries were made after the formation of the NATO. (b) The United States had committed herself to a military alliance in peace time for the first time in her history ' From 1949 onwards, a large number of American troops was stationed in western Europe. For the next 20 years, her allies could call for American military assistance. This marked an end of the isolationist policy which had always been upheld by the United States. (c) In response to the formation of the NATO, Russia formed the Warsaw Pact.

(iii) The Warsaw Pact : Since the end of the war, Russia had set up pro-Russian communist governments in eastern and central Europe. By 1948 the Cominform had been formed and Russia had concluded mutual assistance treaties with Poland, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Rumania. The confrontation over Berlin (1948-49) and the formation of NATO meant that the Cold War would continue. Soon after the Communist victory in Indo-China, the anticommunist nations in Asia formed the South-East Asia Treaty Organization. In Europe, West Germany was admitted to the NATO in 1955 and allowed to re-arm. (West Germany was essential to an overall defence system in Europe. As her economy advanced rapidly after 1950, her rearmament was of great help to the defence of western Europe. Because of Britain's promise not to withdraw her NATO forces from Europe (in order to counterbalance the German forces), France did not object to the admittance of West Germany into the NATO and West Germany's rearmament in the 9 Power Conference of 1954.) The Soviet Union looked at these anti-communist moves with fear.

She concluded the Warsaw Pact with her satellites in May 1955. It included all communist states in Europe except Yugoslavia - Soviet Russia, Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Rumania, Czechoslovakia and East Germany. The Pact spoke of peaceful intentions and defence. It precluded its members to participate in any other coalition or alliance but it assured members of immediate assistance, including the use of armed force, in the event of armed aggression. To provide for military assistance, a Russian Supreme Commander was appointed to lead the combined armed forces of its members. A Consultative Committee was established to foster political understanding of its members. Significance of the formation of the Warsaw Pact: (a) The Pact allowed Russia to station her troops in eastern European countries. This meant that Russia could attack western Europe at any moment and could suppress any sign of rebellion in her satellite countries. (b) By 1955 when the most critical phase of the Cold War was over both Russia and the United States had organized their satellites into opposing alliances. Political tension between the East and the West will continue.

Berlin Wall: What you need to know about the barrier that divided East and West | The Independent Berlin Wall: What you need to know about the barrier that divided East and West On Sunday, it will be 25 years since the Berlin Wall fell Friday 7 November 2014 16:22 BST Click to follow Indy Lifestyle Online Sunday will mark 25 years since the Berlin Wall was torn down, ending almost 30 years of division in the German capital. It had been constructed overnight and on the night of 9 November 1989 it fell, with thousands of East Germans travelling to the barrier to demand the gates be opened. They were met on the other side by huge crowds of “Wessis” waiting to greet them with flowers and champagne, starting celebrations that lasted for days. This weekend, Berlin is celebrating again, with a symbolic wall of illuminated balloons being released into the sky amid a programme of concerts, plays and exhibitions throughout the city. Most Germans marking the occasion will not remember the construction of “Die Mauer”, which caught Berliners by complete surprise. Read more West German people smashing down the Berlin Wall in November 1989 When was the Berlin Wall built?

The first barrier was constructed overnight on 12 August 1961, after the leader of the East German Communist Party, Walter Ulbricht, ordered a barricade to stop East Germans defecting. An estimated 2.5 million people had flooded into West Berlin since 1949 and the Government wanted to put a stop to the exodus from the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Berliners woke up on 13 August to find themselves separated from friends, family, work and even their homes and in the coming weeks and months, the barrier was strengthened with concrete walls and guard towers. The finished wall was made up of a 66 mile concrete section that was 3.6 metres high, with a further 41 miles of barbed wire fencing and more than 300 manned look-out towers. It did not just go through the centre of the city – it completely encircled all of West Berlin, which was surrounded by the communist GDR. Two women wave to their family across the Berlin Wall, 1961 Why was it constructed?

By 1949, Germany had become two separate countries - The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), run by the Allies, and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), run by the Soviet Union. Although Berlin was in East Germany, as the capital it was also shared between Britain, France, America and the Soviet Union. The inner German border was officially closed in 1952 and the city became the main route for disaffected East Germans reaching the West. Thousands of people exploited what became known as the “Berlin emigration loophole” and the GDR’s introduction of new passport laws in 1957 only drove more people through the capital – up to 90 per cent of all refugees. Families and friends, once neighbours, now stand divided and wave across to each other over the Berlin wall. What impact did it have? The wall divided friends, families and loved ones, causing people on both sides to lose their jobs and livelihoods if trapped on the wrong side. In total, about 5,000 people are thought to escaped East Germany by crossing the wall – including more than 1,300 guards.

Tales of daring escapes became a fixture in the Western media, including acrobat Horst Klein, who dangled off a disused cable as he made his way to the West inch-by-inch. Heinz Meixner famously cut out his car’s windscreen and ducked underneath the barrier at Checkpoint Charlie, as he sped through with his mother in the boot. Perhaps the most famous symbols of freedom became Hans Strelczyk and Gunter Wetzel, who constructed a hot air balloon to fly themselves over the wall in 1979. There was one group of Berliners that crossed without risking their lives – the 50,000 Grenzgängers – who were permitted to work in the West, with its larger salaries, capitalist economy and political freedoms. A man lies in the back of lorry after crossing the Berlin Wall by ladder fearing the guards may have seen him escape, 1965 How many people died? The first person to be killed trying to cross the wall was Gunter Litfin, on 24 August 1961. Like many East Germans, he worked in West Berlin and had woken up little over a week before to find his livelihood as an apprentice tailor destroyed.

He was also a member of the centre-right CDU party, which was quickly made illegal by the GDR and rented a flat in the West. The wall was still mostly a barbed wire barrier at the time and he hoped to break through with a well-timed run on what he believed was a poorly-guarded stretch. But when he was spotted climbing over railway tracks, he was shot in the head. In the immediate aftermath, officials hushed up his death and responded to rumours with claims that Litfin was a gay man known as “Dolly” fleeing due to his “criminal acts.” For the 28 years it stood, up to 200 people are believed to have died at the wall, although estimates vary. Many lost their lives along the heavily fortified “death strip”, which contained anti-vehicle trenches, barbed wire and beds of nails under blinding floodlights. The wall, nicknamed the Iron Curtain, became a symbol of the division in Europe between the west and the oppressive east, despite the GDR’s attempts to characterise it as a protective shell against “fascism” allegedly remaining from the Nazi era.

1959: East German 'wall guards' observe West Berlin over a barrier erected by the GDR in August that year. Why did it fall? The proximity of West Berlin, offering the prosperity and freedom that the East lacked, was a constant bane to the GDR’s leadership. Positive propaganda about the “Anti-Fascist Protective Rampart” was not enough to stop East Germans succumbing to the lure of the Western city or the rest of democratic Europe. As revolutions against the Soviet Union rose through the 1980s, people in the GDR started to demand greater personal and political freedoms, as well as that of movement, and protesters demanded they be allowed into the West. A protest outside the DDR parliament on 7 November 1989 calling for the Wall to come down. It did so two days later After Hungary and the then Czechoslovakia opened their borders to East Germany, defectors began to drain from the country and the Government found it increasingly difficult to refuse calls to open legal crossings. When the border was eventually opened, it was almost by accident.

East Berlin's Communist party spokesman, Günter Schabowski, announced East Germans would “immediately” allowed to travel directly to West Germany on 9 November in a broadcast that was seen across the country at 7pm. When the GDR attempted to backtrack later that evening, calling on citizens to queue at the migration office the next day, it was too late and thousands of East Germans were already on their way to the barricade. When did the wall come down? Crowds of East Germans arrived at the wall to find confused guards, until then ordered to shoot those attempting to cross on sight, unaware of the sudden change. As soldiers made frantic calls, they demanded the gates were opened until their request was finally opened at 10.45pm. To avoid a stampede, officials began to gradually let people in, before finally losing control and opening the barriers. As East and West Germans celebrated that night, singing and dancing on the wall, many soldiers were said to have joined in the revelry.

The fall of the Berlin Wall – 25 years on The fall of the Berlin Wall – 25 years on 1/10 The fall of the Berlin Wall – 25 years on East German border guards stand on a section of the Berlin wall in front of the Brandenburg gate on November 11, 1989 AFP/Getty 2/10 The fall of the Berlin Wall – 25 years on Cars line up at the Pomezy border station, on November 5, 1989 as East German refugees cross the border to West Germany AFP/Getty 3/10 The fall of the Berlin Wall – 25 years on East German refugees penned behind barriers outside the West German embassy wait for the buses to take them to the railway station to leave Prague on 4th October 1989 AFP/Getty 4/10 The fall of the Berlin Wall – 25 years on Thousands of young East Berliners gather at the Berlin Wall, near the Brandenburg Gate on November 11, 1989 AFP/Getty 5/10 The fall of the Berlin Wall – 25 years on East Berliners climb onto the Berlin Wall to celebrate the effective end of the

 city's partition, 31st December 1989 Getty 6/10 The fall of the Berlin Wall – 25 years on A replica of a watchtower of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) on display in the "Potsdamer Platz Arkaden" shopping mall in Berlin where an exhibition titled "25 Years of the Fall of the Berlin Wall" has been staged AFP/Getty 7/10 The fall of the Berlin Wall – 25 years on Berliners from East and West celebrate at the Brandenburg Gate in December 1989 AFP/Getty 8/10 The fall of the Berlin Wall – 25 years on East German drivers queue at the Schirnding border crossing into Czecho-slovakia five days before the fall of the Berlin EPA 9/10 The fall of the Berlin Wall – 25 years on The Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, watched by his wife Raisa, right, kisses his East German counterpart Erich Honecker in East Berlin in October 1989 AP 10/10 The fall of the Berlin Wall – 25 years on Police from both sides stand idly by as the Berlin Wall

 is breached for the first time between East and West, at the Sandkrug Bridge crossing-point on Invaliden Strasse, in November 1989 AFP/Getty The 9 November 1989 is considered to be the date the wall “fell” but the structure was not completely taken down that night.

It was gradually smashed to pieces over the following weeks, with many people taking it apart themselves with hammers and chisels, keeping pieces of history for themselves. The government finally destroyed the wall in 1990 although parts of it remain in Berlin and in museums around the world. Talks between East and West Germany started that year and at midnight on 3 October 1990 – less than a year after the Berlin Wall fell – the republics were officially reunited. Iron Curtain - Cold War Cold War WHO: soviet union created it WHAT: Iron curtain was a boundary that separated the Warsaw pact countries from NATO countries about 1945 until the end of the cold war in 1991 WHERE: - was a barrier in Europe WHY: so it can separate Europe into 2 areas after world war two The iron curtain The political, military, and ideological barrier erected by the soviet union after world war two to seal of itself and its dependent eastern European allies from open contact from the west and other non-communist areas.

The term iron curtain has been used as a metaphor in the 19th century but it came to prominence only after the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in a speech Churchill gave the speech at Westminster College, in Fulton, Missouri, after receiving an honorary degree and was introduced by Missourian, President Harry Truman. on march 5, 1946 , when he said of the communist states he said From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. - Less than a year after the end of the World War II, the great wartime leader of Britain, Winston Churchill, delivered this speech coining the term "iron curtain" to describe the line in Europe between self-governing nations of the West and those in Eastern Europe under Soviet Communist control. - The restrictions of the iron curtain were reduced after the death of Stalin in 1953. Although the construction of the Berlin wall in 1961 restored them the iron curtain largely ceased to exist in 1989 to 1990 with the communist abandonment of one party rule in Eastern Europe. - Churchill gave his now famous iron Curtain speech to a crowd of 40,000.

In addition to accepting an honorary degree from the college, Churchill made one of his most famous post-war speeches. - It was Churchill's speech, which he titled "The Sinews of Peace," that changed the way the democratic West viewed the Communist East. Many people consider Churchill's "iron curtain speech" the beginning of the cold war - The Iron Curtain. World War II was a global military conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945 which involved most of the world's nations , including all of the great powers , organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis . It was the most widespread war in history, with more than 100 million military personnel were mobilized. The war ended when the Axis powers Japan, Germany, surrendered. This was the background to which the iron curtain was developed. The Iron Curtain was a speech by Winston Churchill on March 5, 1946. He made the speech at west Minister College in Fulton Missouri. The Iron curtain represents the political, military, and ideological barrier erected by the Soviet Union after World War II to seal of itself and its dependent eastern European allies from open contact from the west and other non-communist areas.

While he was saying the speech this quote was made From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. The Iron Curtain was divided into two parts capitalism and communism. In capitalism all industries and business were privately owned by people neither the government nor the state. One other thing is that people were allowed to start their own industry, and who ever made a profit through their business kept his reward. They had a democracy, which was a free economy with an average standard of living other than under communism but widespread between rich and poor. Where as in communist countries people were not allowed to benefit form their own profit that they made. All the profits they made through work went to the government or the state and everyone profited. They also had very low average standards of living with a controlled economy. They only had one part of government, with fairness and equality for all. Also everything in their economy was owned by the state and should be run by the government on behalf of the people. And lastly they had a classless society achieved by overthrowing capitalism by revolution. There were many countries involved with the iron curtain like the United States of America, and the USSR.

It was Churchill's speech, which he titled The Sinews of Peace, that changed the way the democratic West viewed the Communist East. Many people consider Churchill's iron curtain speech the beginning of the cold war. His speech was given to a crowd of forty thousand people. In addition to accepting an honorary degree from the college, Churchill made one of his most famous post-war speeches. In conclusion the Iron curtain affected a lot of countries, a lot of countries wished to be on the capitalism side while others were having a nightmare on the communism side. Capitalism gave people so much freedom while on communism everything was owned by the state and the government. So people were unlucky to be on the communism side. This all took affect after Stalin died. And that’s when the nightmare started. Links for Citations: The Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall The mounting tensions between the Allies and Soviets culminated in the Berlin Crisis and the construction of the Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall During the early years of the Cold War, West Berlin was a geographical loophole through which thousands of East Germans fled to the democratic West. In response, the Communist East German authorities built a wall that totally encircled West Berlin. It was thrown up overnight, on 13 August 1961.

For the next three decades, the city became the hot end of the Cold War as the world's nuclear superpowers faced off across the Wall. Half a century later, we look back on the Wall and its impact through a BBC archive collection. Photo: West Berliners gather at the Wall whilst an East German soldier patrols the other side, in August 1961. (Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images) More information about: The Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (German: Berliner Mauer) was a barrier that divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. Constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany), starting on 13 August 1961, the Wall completely cut off (by land) West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin until government officials opened it in November 1989. Its demolition officially began on 13 June 1990 and was completed in 1992. The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, which circumscribed a wide area (later known as the "death strip") that contained anti-vehicle trenches, "fakir beds" and other defenses.

The Eastern Bloc claimed that the Wall was erected to protect its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the "will of the people" in building a socialist state in East Germany. In practice, the Wall served to prevent the massive emigration and defection that had marked East Germany and the communist Eastern Bloc during the post-World War II period. The Berlin Wall was officially referred to as the "Anti-Fascist Protective Wall" (German: Antifaschistischer Schutzwall) by GDR authorities, implying that the NATO countries and West Germany in particular were considered equal to "fascists" by GDR propaganda. The West Berlin city government sometimes referred to it as the "Wall of Shame"—a term coined by mayor Willy Brandt—while condemning the Wall's restriction on freedom of movement. Along with the separate and much longer Inner German border (IGB), which demarcated the border between East and West Germany, it came to symbolize a physical marker of the "Iron Curtain" that separated Western Europe and the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War.

Before the Wall's erection, 3.5 million East Germans circumvented Eastern Bloc emigration restrictions and defected from the GDR, many by crossing over the border from East Berlin into West Berlin; from which they could then travel to West Germany and other Western European countries. Between 1961 and 1989, the Wall prevented almost all such emigration. During this period, around 5,000 people attempted to escape over the Wall, with an estimated death toll ranging from 136 to more than 200 in and around Berlin. In 1989, a series of radical political changes occurred in the Eastern Bloc, associated with the liberalization of the Eastern Bloc's authoritarian systems and the erosion of political power in the pro-Soviet governments in nearby Poland and Hungary. After several weeks of civil unrest, the East German government announced on 9 November 1989 that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin. Crowds of East Germans crossed and climbed onto the Wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a celebratory atmosphere.

Over the next few weeks, euphoric people and souvenir hunters chipped away parts of the Wall; the governments later used industrial equipment to remove most of what was left. Contrary to popular belief the Wall's actual demolition did not begin until the summer of 1990 and was not completed until 1992. The fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for German reunification, which was formally concluded on 3 October 1990.

Question: What figurative barrier separated democratic and communist Europe?
Answer: Iron Curtain