Truman declared his Truman Doctrine that wanted to block the spread of communism and protect other countries from being influenced by Soveit Union. In the course of World War II, Stalin determined to acquire a buffer area against Germany, with pro-Soviet states on its border in an Eastern bloc. The Iron Curtain is a term that received prominence after Winston Churchill’s speech in which he said that an “iron curtain has descended” across Europe. Learn about the building of the Berlin Wall between East and West Germany in 1961. The formation of a Soviet bloc in Europe occurred after World War II. Although not well received at the time, the phrase iron curtain gained popularity as a shorthand reference to the division of Europe as the Cold War strengthened. 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 WHEN: 1945 to 1991 WHERE: - was a barrier in Europe WHY: so it can separate Europe into 2 areas after world war two Summary: 2 page paragraph The iron curtain . Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. The Iron Curtain over America was first published in the middle of the Korean War and at the beginning of the Cold War. Physically, the Iron Curtain took the form of border defenses between the countries of Europe in the middle of the continent, most notably the Berlin Wall. Usually capitalized. The black dot represents Berlin. Iron Curtain Facts for kids. Nonetheless, at the Potsdam Conference, the Allies assigned parts of Poland, Finland, Romania, Germany, and the Balkans to Soviet control or influence. The Iron Curtain specifically refers to the imaginary line dividing Europe between Soviet influence and Western influence, and symbolizes efforts by the Soviet Union to block itself and its satellite states from open contact with the West and non-Soviet-controlled areas. Because of the difficulty traveling behind the Iron Curtain, couriers from across Europe shared the passenger and sleeping cars and often spent their off-duty hours together. The Iron Curtain is the name for the "barrier" that separated the communist and non-communist territories. The inevitable truth of that principle, in the atomic age, still eludes foolish and dangerous people on both sides of the Iron Curtain, who assume that on the other side, a first strike is being planned, a nuclear exchange is being actively considered, and therefore, arms control is an impossible dream or an undesirable snare. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). It contains certain phrases- the special relationship, the sinews of peace which at once entered into general use, and which have survived. Andrei Zhdanov, Stalin’s chief propagandist, used the term against the West in an August 1946 speech: Iron Curtain: The Iron Curtain depicted as a black line. Iron curtain definition is - a political, military, and ideological barrier that cuts off and isolates an area; specifically, often capitalized : one formerly isolating an area under Soviet control. On either side of the Iron Curtain, states developed their own international economic and military alliances: Physically, the Iron Curtain took the form of border defenses between the countries of Europe in the middle of the continent. The Iron Curtain is a promotional primary weapon for the Heavy. 2. Directed by William A. Wellman. b) divided East and West Germany. The new and exquisitely beautiful theatre of Drury-lane has the peculiar contrivance of an iron-curtain to secure the audience from all danger, in case of fire on the stage. Churchill delivers Iron Curtain speech In one of the most famous orations of the Cold War period, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill condemns the … Iron Curtain describes how, spurred by Stalin and his secret police, the Communist regimes of Eastern Europe were created and what daily life was like once they were complete. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. He accused Churchill of warmongering, and defended Soviet “friendship” with eastern European states as a necessary safeguard against another invasion. Communist Albania broke off contacts with the Soviet Union in the early 1960s, aligning itself with the People’s Republic of China after the Sino-Soviet split; it appears stripe-hatched with grey. But it is the passage on the iron curtain The Iron Curtain is a Western term made famous by Winston Churchill referring to the boundary which symbolically, ideologically, and physically divided Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II, until the end of the Cold War, roughly 1945 to 1990. Much of the Western public still regarded the Soviet Union as a close ally in the context of the recent defeat of Nazi Germany and of Japan. Iron Curtain is a 1948 American thriller film starring Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney, directed by William A. Wellman. The Eastern Bloc, coined as the Iron Curtain by the West, were the countries that formed a boundary between eastern and western Europe after World War II. How to use iron curtain in a sentence. Iosif Stalin, Interview on Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech. John Beaty, rose to the rank of Colonel and worked as an intelligence officer. People in the West expressed opposition to Soviet domination over the buffer states, leading to growing fear that the Soviets were building an empire that might threaten them and their interests. The Iron Curtain specifically refers to the imaginary line dividing Europe between Soviet influence and Western influence, and symbolizes efforts by the Soviet Union to block itself and its satellite states from open contact with the West and non-Soviet-controlled areas. This speech may be regarded as the most important Churchill delivered as Leader of the Opposition (1945-1951). Initially set up as a buffer zone to the Soviet Union, there was a great deal of tension between … iron curtain (n.) 1794, the name of a fire-protection device to be used in theaters, a literal iron curtain; see iron (n.) + curtain (n.).. The Iron Curtain wasn’t simply a phrase made famous by Winston Churchill to describe the line separating the Soviet-dominated eastern Europe from the sovereign nations of the west. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia; all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject, in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and in some cases increasing measure of control from Moscow. In return, Stalin promised the Western Allies he would allow those territories the right to national self-determination. Warsaw Pact countries on one side of the Iron Curtain appear shaded red; NATO members on the other shaded blue; militarily neutral countries shaded gray. c) separated the United States from the Soviet Union. Iron Curtain, the political, military, and ideological barrier erected by the Soviet Union after World War II to seal off itself and its dependent eastern and central European allies from open contact with the West and other noncommunist areas. Combining Winston Churchill's moniker of the Iron Curtain with the dominant steel industry of Pittsburgh, the nickname "Steel Curtain" established recognition due to being very apt and thirty years later is still in use. Iron Curtain Facts - 1: The term "Iron Curtain" was used to describe the boundary that separated the free democratic countries of the West with the communist dominated countries of the East, as shown in the map.The boundary existed from 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The story of Soviet cypher-clerk Igor Gouzenko who was posted to the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa,Canada in 1943 and defected in 1945 to reveal the extent … The Iron Curtain largely ceased to exist in 1989–90 with the communists’ abandonment of one-party rule in eastern Europe. This weapon functions identically to the Minigun. The term “iron curtain” had been employed as a metaphor since the 19th century, but Churchill used it to refer specifically to the political, military, and ideological barrier created by the U.S.S.R. following World War II to prevent open contact between itself and its dependent eastern and central European allies on the one hand and the West and other noncommunist regions on the other. The geographical border and military, political, and ideological barrier established and enforced by the Soviet Union that separated the countries of the Soviet bloc from the rest of Europe from 1945 to 1990. He asserted that to put a brake on this phenomenon, the commanding force of and strong unity between the UK and the U.S. was necessary. d) separated Japan from the rest of Asia. It is written by John Beaty, a regular American who served in the War Department during the Second World War. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The term symbolized efforts by the Soviet Union to block itself and its satellite states from open contact with the West and non-Soviet-controlled areas. The restrictions and the rigidity of the Iron Curtain were somewhat reduced in the years following Joseph Stalin’s death in 1953, although the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 restored them. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were the countries connected to or influenced by the Soviet Union. Overview of the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961. From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an “Iron Curtain” has descended across the continent. On March 5, 1946, Winston Churchill gave a speech declaring that an “iron curtain” had descended across Europe, pointing to efforts by the Soviet Union to block itself and its satellite states from open contact with the West. The Iron Curtain formed the imaginary boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The Allied Powers and the Central Powers backed the White movement against the Bolsheviks during the 1918–1920 Russian Civil War, a fact not forgotten by the Soviets. The Iron Curtain brought economic and political stagnation, especially in the Eastern Block leading to the Soviet Union’s decreasing influence and interventions in the region. Winston Churchill’s “Sinews of Peace” address of March 5, 1946, at Westminster College, used the term “iron curtain” in the context of Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe: Churchill mentioned in his speech that regions under the Soviet Union’s control were expanding their leverage and power without any restriction. Those territories the right to your inbox Membership, this article ( requires login.! 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