Iron Curtain
Definition
The term "Iron Curtain" refers to the metaphorical barrier that divided Europe into two separate political and ideological blocs during the Cold War. It symbolized the division between Western democracies and Eastern European countries under Soviet influence.
Analogy
Imagine a large fence made of iron separating a playground into two sections. One side represents the democratic countries with their own rules, while the other side represents the Eastern European countries under Soviet control, each following different regulations.
Related terms
Cold War: A period of geopolitical tension and rivalry between the United States (and its allies) and the Soviet Union (and its allies) after World War II, without direct military conflict.
Eastern Bloc: Refers to the group of communist states in Eastern Europe, including Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and others.
Containment Policy: A strategy adopted by the United States to prevent the spread of communism by exerting diplomatic, economic, and military pressure on Soviet-aligned countries.
"Iron Curtain" appears in:
Subjects (2)
Practice Questions (2)
“From Stetin 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 ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia, all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I might call the Soviet Sphere, and all are subject, in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence, but to very high, and in some cases increasing measure of control from Moscow." The above quotations shows that Winston Churchill
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