mar 5, 1946 - Iron Curtain

Description:

Background info:
- The Iron Curtain was a term used by Churchill in a speech made in 1946, to symbolize the division of the East (USSR) and the West (Britain, France, Italy, etc). This idea caused issues between the US and the USSR because it implied the idea of a competition between the 2, and a 'separation' between them.

Why was the speech made in the first place?

The Western powers were alarmed by Stalin's takeover of Eastern Europe; they had accepted the idea of the "sphere of influence" but did not expect it to become a complete communist takeover. They assumed it would be more on the side of the countries within the sphere of influence to simply like the USSR, not completely become communists! Stalin saw his sphere as a way of making himself secure, but Truman saw it as the spread of communism.

What countries did Stalin take over in Eastern Europe and how did he do it? (there are more countries than the examples given, but these are the easiest to remember)

Poland: Nazi-Soviet pact 1939, after WW2 the USSR was allowed to keep Poland

Hungary: 1947 elections, communism won as the largest single party, church leaders attacked

Bulgaria: Coalition 1945, communist members within it killed leaders of other parties

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