Warsaw Pact countries to the east of the Iron Curtain are shaded red; NATO members to the west of it—blue. The Warsaw Pact (see Nomenclature) was an organization of Communist states in Central and Eastern Europe. The North Atlantic Treaty Militarily neutral countries − grey. Yugoslavia, although communist-run, was independent of the Eastern Bloc. The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ( Serbo-Croatian, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian: During the Cold War, the term Communist Bloc (or Soviet Bloc) was used to refer to the Soviet Union and countries it either controlled or that were Similarly, communist Albania broke with the Soviet Union in the early 1960s, aligning itself with the People's Republic of China after the Sino-Soviet split. This article is about the country in southern Europe For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Albania topics. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES The Sino-Soviet split was a gradual divergence of diplomatic ties between the People's Republic of China (PRC and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR

Iron Curtain in Germany

The "Iron Curtain" was the symbolic, ideological, and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II until the end of the Cold War, roughly 1945 to 1991. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the At both sides of the Iron Curtain, the states developed their own international economic and military alliances, COMECON and the Warsaw Pact on the east side with the USSR as most important member, and the NATO and the European Community on the west side, with the United States as its most important member. The Warsaw Pact (see Nomenclature) was an organization of Communist states in Central and Eastern Europe. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The North Atlantic Treaty The European Community (EC is one of the Three pillars of the European Union (EU created under the Maastricht Treaty (1992 The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

The Iron Curtain took physical shape in the shape of border defenses between the countries of the western and eastern Europe, most notably the Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall (Berliner Mauer was a physical barrier separating West Berlin from the German Democratic Republic (GDR ( East Germany) including

German politician and Nazi Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels was the first to refer to an "Iron Curtain" coming down across Europe after World War II, in a manifesto he published in the German newspaper Das Reich in February 1945. Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German Paul Joseph Goebbels (German pronunciation ˈɡœbəls English generally ˈɡɝbəlz (29 October 1897 1 May 1945 was a German politician and Reich Minister of Public ^[1][2] The term was not widely used until March 5, 1946, when Winston Churchill popularized it in his address Sinews of Peace. Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian moves from Antioch with an army of 90000 to attack the Sassanid Empire, in a Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874

Political, economic and military realities

Eastern Europe

While the Iron Curtain was in place, certain countries of Eastern Europe and many in Central Europe (except West Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Austria) were under the control of the Soviet Union. Eastern Europe is a general term that refers to the Geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the European continent. Central Europe is the Region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and West Germany ( Inf German: Westdeutschland or West-Deutschland) was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany ( The Principality of Liechtenstein (Fürstentum Liechtenstein) is a tiny doubly landlocked Alpine country in Western Europe, bordered by Switzerland Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Indeed the Central European states to the east of the Curtain were frequently regarded as being part of Eastern Europe, rather than Central Europe. It became common in the West to refer to former East Germany and Czechoslovakia as part of Eastern Europe. The German Democratic Republic ( GDR; Deutsche Demokratische Republik DDR; commonly known in English as East Germany) was a Socialist state Czechoslovakia may also refer to what is now the Czech Republic and Slovakia. However, East Germany, the Czech Republic and large parts of Poland are further west than much of Austria, with Prague considerably further west than Vienna. The German Democratic Republic ( GDR; Deutsche Demokratische Republik DDR; commonly known in English as East Germany) was a Socialist state Prague (ˈprɑːg Praha (ˈpraɦa see also other names) is the Capital and Largest city of the Czech Republic. Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria. Much of the physical Iron Curtain divided Czechoslovakia from Austria to the South.

Many of the states were members of the Soviet Union (the Soviet Socialist Republics), while, with two exceptions, the neighboring countries of the Eastern bloc were ruled by Soviet installed puppet governments, kept in place by the threat and use of military force. The Republics of the Soviet Union were according to the Article 76 of the 1977 Soviet Constitution, Sovereign Soviet Socialist states that had united with other During the Cold War, the term Communist Bloc (or Soviet Bloc) was used to refer to the Soviet Union and countries it either controlled or that were The two exceptions were Yugoslavia which retained its full independence, and Albania which escaped Soviet influence in the 1960s and aligned itself with China; both Albania and Yugoslavia were Communist states. The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ( Serbo-Croatian, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian: This article is about the country in southern Europe For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Albania topics. Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES Communist state is a term used by many Political scientists to describe a Form of government in which the State operates under a one-party system

To the east of the Iron Curtain, the states developed their own international economic and military alliances, COMECON and the Warsaw Pact. The Warsaw Pact (see Nomenclature) was an organization of Communist states in Central and Eastern Europe.

Iron curtain Germany (near Witzenhausen-Heiligenstadt

West of the Iron Curtain

To the west of the Iron Curtain, the countries of Western Europe, Northern Europe and Southern Europe—along with Austria, West Germany, Liechtenstein and Switzerland—operated market economies. Western Europe at its most general meaning means 'all the countries in the West of Europe ' Northern Europe is a term for the northern part of Europe. The United Nations defines Northern Europe as (Finland The term Southern Europe can have four definitions geographical political climatic phytogeographic A market economy is a realized Social system based on the Division of labour in which the prices of Goods and Services are determined in a With the exception of a period of fascism in Spain and Portugal and military dictatorship in Greece, these countries were ruled by democratic governments. Fascism is a totalitarian nationalist and corporatist ideology Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Regime of the Colonels redirects here For the Polish regime of colonels see Colonels' group. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system

Most states to the west of the Iron Curtain— with the exception of neutral Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Sweden, Finland and Ireland—were allied with the United States and Canada within NATO. For other uses of Neutral and Neutrality see Neutral A neutral country takes no side in a War between other parties "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The North Atlantic Treaty Economically, the European Community and the European Free Trade Association were the Western counterparts to COMECON. The European Community (EC is one of the Three pillars of the European Union (EU created under the Maastricht Treaty (1992 The European Free Trade Association ( EFTA) is a European Trade bloc which was established on 3 May 1960 as an alternative for European states who were either

As a physical entity

Further information: Inner German border and Czechoslovakian border fortifications during the Cold War

Preserved section of the border between East Germany and West Germany called the "Little Berlin Wall" at Mödlareuth

The Iron Curtain took physical shape in the shape of border defenses between the countries of the western and eastern Europe. The inner German border ( German: Innerdeutsche Grenze or Deutsch-Deutsche Grenze, informal Zonengrenze) was an extensive system of fortifications The border of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (CSSR to Western Europe, mainly to NATO-member Federal Republic of Germany (less so to neutral Austria The German Democratic Republic ( GDR; Deutsche Demokratische Republik DDR; commonly known in English as East Germany) was a Socialist state West Germany ( Inf German: Westdeutschland or West-Deutschland) was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany ( Mödlareuth is a German village situated partly in Bavaria and partly in Thuringia. These were some of the most heavily militarized areas in the world, particularly the so-called "inner German border"—commonly known simply as die Grenze in German—between East and West Germany. The inner German border ( German: Innerdeutsche Grenze or Deutsch-Deutsche Grenze, informal Zonengrenze) was an extensive system of fortifications The inner German border was marked in rural areas by double fences made of steel mesh (expanded metal) with sharp edges, while near urban areas a high concrete barrier similar to the Berlin Wall was built. The Berlin Wall (Berliner Mauer was a physical barrier separating West Berlin from the German Democratic Republic (GDR ( East Germany) including The barrier was always a short distance inside East German territory to avoid any intrusion into Western territory. The actual borderline was marked by posts and signs and was overlooked by numerous watchtowers set behind the barrier. In some places a "death strip" was constructed on the East German side of the barrier, in which unauthorized access would be met with bullets. The strip of land on the West German side of the barrier—between the actual borderline and the barrier—was readily accessible but only at considerable personal risk, because it was patrolled by both East and West German border guards. Shooting incidents were not uncommon, and a total of 28 East German border guards and several hundred civilians were killed between 1948–1981 (some may have been victims of "friendly fire" by their own side). Friendly fire or non-hostile fire, a term originally adopted by the United States military, refers to fire from one's own side or allied forces as

Iron Curtain Germany (detail)

Elsewhere, the border defenses between west and east were much lighter. The border between Hungary and neutral Austria, for instance, was marked by a simple chain-link fence which was easily removed when it became the first part of the Iron Curtain to be dismantled in 1989. On June 27, 1989, the foreign ministers of Austria and Hungary, Alois Mock and Gyula Horn, ceremonially cut through the border defenses separating their countries. Events 1358 - Republic of Dubrovnik is founded 1709 - Peter the Great defeats Charles XII of Sweden Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) A minister for foreign affairs, or foreign minister, is a governmental cabinet minister who helps form the Foreign policy of a sovereign nation Alois Mock (born June 10 1934) is a politician and member of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP Gyula Horn (born in July 5 1932, Budapest) is a Hungarian politician and former Prime Minister of Hungary (1994–1998 leading

In parts of Czechoslovakia the border strip became hundreds of meters wide, and an area of increasing restrictions was defined as the border was approached. Only people with the appropriate government permissions were allowed to get close to the border.

The creation of these highly militarized no-man's lands led to de facto nature reserves and created a wildlife corridor across Europe; this helped the spread of several species to new territories. A wildlife corridor or green corridor is a strip of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities (such as roads development or logging Since the fall of the iron curtain several initiatives are pursuing the creation of a European Green Belt nature preserve compound. The European Green Belt is an initiative driven by the IUCN (World Conservation Union.

The term "Iron Curtain" was only used for the fortified borders in central Europe; it was not used for similar borders in Asia between communist and capitalist states. The border between North Korea and South Korea is very comparable to the former inner German border, particularly in its degree of militarization, but it has never conventionally been considered part of the Iron Curtain. North Korea is the commonly used short form name for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or DPRK) a State located in East Asia, South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often referred to as Korea ( Korean: 대한민국 tɛː

The Iron Curtain from the American side, taken in 1975.

Origins

The first recorded use of the term iron curtain was derived from the safety curtain used in theatres and first applied to the border of communist Russia as "an impenetrable barrier" in 1920 by Ethel Snowden, in her book Through Bolshevik Russia. Iron, when used Metaphorically, refers to certain traits of the Metal Iron. A curtain (in the US also known as a drape or drapery) is a piece of Cloth intended to block or obscure Light, or Drafts, or Ethel Snowden, born Ethel Annakin ( 1880 - February 22, 1951) was a British Socialist and Feminist politician ^[3] It was used during World War II by German Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels and later Count Lutz Schwerin von Krosigk in the last days of the war. Paul Joseph Goebbels (German pronunciation ˈɡœbəls English generally ˈɡɝbəlz (29 October 1897 1 May 1945 was a German politician and Reich Minister of Public Johann Ludwig (Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk, (22 August 1887 4 March 1977 was a German jurist and senior government official The former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill used the phrase in telegrams to President Truman on 1945 May 12 and 1945 June 4. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located This article is about the government position For other uses see Prime Minister (disambiguation. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 ^[4] However, its use was not popularized until Churchill used it in his "Sinews of Peace" address March 5, 1946, at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri:

Reactions

At first, many countries in the West widely condemned the speech. Much of the Western public still regarded the Soviet Union as close allies, in context of the recent defeat of Nazi Germany and Japan. Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers The Empire of Japan ( {{unicode|Kyūjitai}}: ja 大日本帝國 Shinjitai: ja 大日本帝国 pronounced Dai Nippon Teikoku Many saw Churchill's speech as warmongering and unnecessary. In light of the now public Soviet archives, many historians have now revised their opinions. ^[5]

Although the phrase was not well received at the time, as the Cold War strengthened it gained popularity as a short-hand reference to the division of Europe. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the The Iron Curtain served to keep people in and information out, and the metaphor eventually was widely accepted throughout the West.

Antagonism between Soviet Union and West

Further information: Origins of the Cold War and Cold War (1947–1953)

The antagonism between the Soviet Union and the West that led to Churchill's speech had various origins. The Origins of the Cold War are widely regarded to lie most directly within the immediate post- World War II relations between the two main Superpowers of the The Cold War (1947-1953 discusses the period within the Cold War from the establishment of the Truman Doctrine in 1947 to the Korean War in 1953

The United Kingdom, France, Japan, Canada, the United States and many other countries had backed the White Russians against the Bolsheviks during the 1918–1920 Russian Civil War, and the fact had not been forgotten by the Soviets. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The White movement (Beloie Dvijenie Белое движение whose military arm is known as the White Army (Belaia Armia Белая Армия or White Guard The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists ( Большевик Большевист (singular, derived from bolshe, "more" were a faction The Russian Civil War (1917–1923 was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed In the build up to World War II and in the face of the Western appeasement of Adolf Hitler the Soviets signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany, one of the intentions being to divide the border states between them to form a buffer zone. Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately Following the war, Stalin was determined to acquire a similar buffer against Germany with pro-Soviet states on its border, leading to strained relations at the Yalta Conference (February 1945) and the subsequent Potsdam Conference (August 1945). The Yalta Conference, sometimes called the Crimea Conference and Codenamed the Argonaut Conference, was the wartime meeting from 4 February The Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern, in Potsdam, Germany, from July 16,

In the West, there was opposition to Soviet domination over the buffer states, and the fear grew that the Soviets were building an empire that might be a threat to them and their interests. And, in particular, Churchill was concerned that the United States might return to its pre-war isolationism, leaving the exhausted European states unable to resist Soviet demands. The diplomatic policy whereby a nation seeks to avoid alliances with other nations in order to avoid being drawn into wars not related to direct territorial self-defense has had a long history President Franklin D. Roosevelt had announced at Yalta that after the defeat of Germany, U. S. forces would be withdrawn from Europe within two years. ^[6]

Earlier uses of the term

There are various earlier usages of the term "iron curtain" pre-dating Churchill. Some suggest the term may have first been coined by Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians after World War I to describe the political situation between Belgium and Germany, in 1914. For the daughter of Philippe and Mathilde see Princess Elisabeth of Belgium For the Empress Elisabeth of Austria born Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria see The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. ^[7] An iron curtain, or eisener Vorhang, was an obligatory precaution in all German theaters to prevent the possibility of fire from spreading from the stage to the rest of the theater. Such fires were rather common because the decor often was very flammable. In case of fire, a metal wall would separate the stage from the theater, secluding the flames to be extinguished by firefighters. Douglas Reed used this metaphor in his book Disgrace Abounding (Jonathan Cape, 1939, page 129): "The bitter strife [in Yugoslavia between Serb unionists and Croat federalists] had only been hidden by the iron safety-curtain of the King's dictatorship. Douglas Reed (1895-1976 was a British Journalist, Playwright, Novelist and Author of a number of Books on political analysis Jonathan Cape was a British Publisher founded in 1919 as Jonathan Page and Company; the name was changed in 1921 and it took over the back list of " Joseph Goebbels wrote of an "iron curtain" in his weekly newspaper Das Reich:

The Year 2000

The first oral intentional mention of an Iron Curtain was in a broadcast by Count Lutz Schwerin von Krosigk to the German people on May 2, 1945:

The first recorded occasion on which Churchill used the term "iron curtain" was in a May 12, 1945 telegram he sent to U. Events 1191 - Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre. Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar S. President Harry S. Truman:

(US Dept of State, Foreign Relations of the US, The Conference of Berlin (Potsdam) 1945, vol. 1, p. 9)

Churchill repeated the words in a further telegram to President Truman on June 4, 1945, in which he protested against such a U. Events 781 BC - The first historic Solar eclipse is recorded in China. Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar S. retreat to what was earlier designated as, and ultimately became, the U. S. occupation zone, saying the military withdrawal would bring

(Ibid. , p. 92)

At the Potsdam Conference, Churchill complained to Stalin about an "iron fence" coming down upon the British Mission in Bucharest.

Allen Dulles used the term in a speech on December 3, 1945, referring to only Germany:

Monuments

There is an Iron Curtain monument in the southern part of the Czech Republic at approximately 48°52′33″N, 15°52′25″E. A few hundred meters of the original fence, and one of the guard towers, has remained installed. There are interpretive signs in Czech and English that explain the history and significance of the Iron Curtain. This is the only surviving part of the fence in the Czech Republic (though several guard towers and bunkers can still be seen. Some of these are part of the Communist Era defenses, some are from the never-used Czechoslovak border fortifications in defense against Hitler, and some towers were, or have become, hunting platforms). The Czechoslovak government built a system of border Fortifications, sometimes called the Beneš Wall' (said Benesh from 1935 to 1938 as defensive

Another monument is located in the village of Devín, now part of Bratislava, Slovakia, at the confluence of the Danube and Morava rivers. Devín (Theben Dévény originally a separate town at the confluence of the Danube and Morava rivers is now a borough of Bratislava, the capital ARTICLE TEXT BEGINS AFTER THESE COMMENTS - PLEASE READ 1 Please do not edit the lead without reading Slovakia (long form Slovak Republic; Slovak:, long form, is a Landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million The Danube (In Donau from earlier Danuvius, Celtic *dānu, meaning "to flow run" Slovak and Polish Dunaj The Morava (March is a River in Central Europe. It is the most important river of Moravia, which derives its name from it

There are several open air museums in parts of the former inner German border, as for example in Berlin and in Mödlareuth, a village that has been divided for several hundred years. Mödlareuth is a German village situated partly in Bavaria and partly in Thuringia. The memory of the division is being kept alive in many other places along the Grenze.

Analogous terms

Throughout the Cold War the term "curtain" would become a common euphemism for boundaries, physical or ideological, between communist and capitalist states. Other usages of the term can be found elsewhere in the world.

• A variant of the Iron Curtain, the Bamboo Curtain, was coined in reference to the People's Republic of China. The Bamboo Curtain was the east Asian version of the Iron Curtain. Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES As the standoff between the West and the countries of the Iron and Bamboo curtains eased with the end of the Cold War, the term fell out of any but historical usage.
• A field of cacti surrounding the U.S. Naval station at Guantanamo Bay planted by Cuba was occasionally termed the "cactus curtain". A cactus (plural cacti) is any member of the Spine plant family Cactaceae, native to the Americas The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la ^{[8] [9]}
• The Zion Curtain is a joking reference to Utah because the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has considerable influence in Utah and often uses the term Zion to describe itself. The State of Utah (ˈjuːtɔː or) is a western state of the United States. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the fourth largest Christian denomination in the United States and the largest and most well-known Zion ( Hebrew: צִיּוֹן ( Persian: صهیون tziyyon; Tiberian vocalization: tsiyyôn; transliterated Zion (See [1])
• See also Tortilla wall

Notes

External links

• Soviet reaction to Churchill's speech
• A streaming online version of the Churchill's speech, with speech notes and other contextual documents
• "Peep under the Iron Curtain", a cartoon first published on March 6, 1946 in Daily Mail
• Field research along the northern sections of the former German-German border, with detailed maps, diagrams, and photos.
• The Lost Border: Photographs of the Iron Curtain