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.
What does it mean to live behind the Iron Curtain?
The Iron Curtain was
a figurative and ideological wall — and eventually a physical one — that separated the Soviet Union from western Europe after World War II
. The name, widely attributed to Winston Churchill, hinted that life in the USSR was secretive and very different from other western, capitalist countries.
What was the meaning of the famous phrase Iron Curtain?
The Iron Curtain was a political 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 term symbolizes
the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its satellite states from open contact with the West and its allied states
.
Why was the iron curtain a problem?
Why was the Iron Curtain a problem?
It prevented the Allies from knowing what the Soviets were up to
. … The Soviets honored their promise to declare war on Japan.
Why did the iron curtain happen?
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.
Is the iron curtain the Berlin Wall?
For the next 28 years, the heavily fortified Berlin Wall stood as the most tangible symbol of the Cold War—a
literal “iron curtain” dividing Europe
. The end of World War II in 1945 saw Germany divided into four Allied occupation zones.
What countries were involved in the iron curtain?
The Europan countries which were considered to be “behind the Iron Curtain” included:
Poland, Estearn Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania and the Soviet Union
. From North Korea to Cuba more countries were separated from the West in the same sense.
How is the iron curtain a dividing line?
The “iron curtain” was a dividing line
because it was an imaginary line that separated Eastern and Western Europe
. The countries that lied behind the line were called the Soviet sphere. NATO, which is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was signed by the U.S., Canada, and ten nations of Western Europe in 1949.
Why is the Iron Curtain speech so important?
It helped bolster American and Western European opposition to communism and the Soviet Union. In his speech, Churchill went on to argue that
strong American-British relations were essential to stopping the spread of communism
and maintaining peace in Europe. His speech was largely effective.
What dangers come from this Iron Curtain?
I have now stated the two great dangers which menace the homes of the people:
War and Tyranny
.
How did the US feel about the Iron Curtain?
The
United States offered economic aid
so western European countries could become strong enough to oppose Soviet aggression.
When did the Iron Curtain happen?
Winston Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech—
March 5, 1946
. Churchill's famed “Iron Curtain” speech ushered in the Cold War and made the term a household phrase.
Who built the Berlin Wall?
On August 13, 1961,
the Communist government of the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany)
began to build a barbed wire and concrete “Antifascistischer Schutzwall,” or “antifascist bulwark,” between East and West Berlin.
How did the Iron Curtain increase tension?
How did the Iron Curtain Speech increase tension? During the speech, Churchill pointed to the Soviet Union as the greatest threat to peace. He declared that an Iron Curtain had descended across the continent of Europe. Secondly,
the speech significantly increased tension between the US and the Soviet Union
.
What is the iron curtain similar to?
The Berlin Wall
was the physical wall that separated East and West Berlin from each other. The Iron Curtain was everything else that separated the Soviet Union from the West and other non-communist countries.
How many people died trying to cross the Berlin Wall?
At the Berlin Wall alone,
at least 140 people
were killed or died in other ways directly connected to the GDR border regime between 1961 and 1989, including 100 people who were shot, accidentally killed, or killed themselves when they were caught trying to make it over the Wall; 30 people from both East and West who …
