Iron Curtain

The Iron Curtain was a political metaphor used to describe the boundary between Eastern and Western Europe during the Cold War, dividing countries influenced by the Soviet Union from those influenced by the United States or neutral. The term symbolized the Soviet Union's efforts to block contact with the West and was later used to describe physical barriers such as fences, walls, and watchtowers. The Iron Curtain existed from 1945 to 1991 and was characterized by separate economic and military alliances on each side, with Eastern countries including Poland, East Germany, and the USSR, and Western countries including NATO members and neutral states. The term originated from a 19th-century metaphor for fireproof curtains and gained popularity after Winston Churchill's 1946 speech, where he used it to describe the Soviet Union's actions.learn more on wikipedia