Student Question
What process is referred to as the "making of an Iron Curtain"?
Quick answer:
The "making of an Iron Curtain" refers to the division of Europe into two ideological camps after World War II, as articulated by Winston Churchill. This metaphor symbolized the divide between communist Eastern Europe, led by the Soviet Union, and capitalist Western Europe, led by the United States and NATO. The Iron Curtain was both a physical and ideological barrier, exemplified by structures like the Berlin Wall. The Cold War tensions persisted until the curtain's collapse in 1989.
That famous metaphor was used by Winston Churchill to describe the Soviet Union forming its infamous Eastern Block at the start of the Cold War.
Metaphorically, the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological differences between communism and capitalism. The two sides were economically opposed to such an extent that there was almost a “wall” between them.
Physically, the curtain was the name given to the defensive emplacements between the borders of capitalist and communist countries. This border started in the north between the USSR and Finland, extending down across the borders of East and West Germany and finally between Bulgaria and Greece. Yugoslavia wasn’t really part of either the East or West block, so it’s position relative to the “curtain” is debatable. The Iron Curtain was also very visable in some places. The Berlin Wall is probably the most famous part of the Iron Curtain.
Churchhill wasn’t the inventor of the phrase. It actually appeared in print around the 1900’s, but he was the first to use the metaphor to describe the communist block countries.
In some places it was called other things. Between Russia and Alaska it was known as the Ice Curtain.
What process was referred to as the making of the "Iron Curtain"?
It is best to start off by defining what the "Iron Curtain" was. The "iron curtain" was the division of Europe after World War II into two distinct ideological camps. The "iron curtain" basically divided Europe into east and west physically, ideologically, and economically.
On the east, the Warsaw Pact united the nations together and the Soviet Union was the most important. On the west, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) united the countries. The United States was the key member in this alliance.
On another level, we can say that ideologically, the east was governed by communism and the west was governed by capitalism. More specifically, those under NATO and those under the Warsaw pact sought to gain countries to ally with them.
Finally, the cold war ended in 1989 and the walls began to crumble.
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