Iron Curtain Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==During the Cold War== ===Building antagonism=== {{Further|Origins of the Cold War|Cold War (1947–1953)}} [[File:DNV opona.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Remains of the "iron curtain" in [[Devínska Nová Ves]], [[Bratislava]] (Slovakia)]] [[File:Čížov (Zaisa) - preserved part of Iron curtain.JPG|thumb|Preserved part of "iron curtain" in the Czech Republic. A [[watchtower]], [[Dragon's teeth (fortification)|dragon's teeth]] and electric security fence are visible.]] The antagonism between the Soviet Union and the West that came to be described as the "iron curtain" had various origins. During the summer of 1939, after conducting negotiations both with a British-French group and with [[Nazi Germany]] regarding potential military and political agreements,{{sfn|Shirer|1990|pp=515–540}} the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed the [[German–Soviet Commercial Agreement (1939)|German–Soviet Commercial Agreement]] (which provided for the trade of certain German military and civilian equipment in exchange for Soviet raw materials){{sfn|Shirer|1990|p=668}}{{sfn|Ericson|1999|p=57}} and the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]] (signed in late August 1939), named after the foreign secretaries of the two countries ([[Vyacheslav Molotov]] and [[Joachim von Ribbentrop]]), which included a secret agreement to split Poland and Eastern Europe between the two states.<ref>Day, Alan J.; East, Roger; Thomas, Richard. ''A Political and Economic Dictionary of Eastern Europe'', p. 405.</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Stalin offered troops to stop Hitler |publisher=NDTV |location=London |agency=Press Trust of India |date=19 October 2008 |url=http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080069304 |access-date=4 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090317090544/http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080069304 |archive-date=17 March 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The Soviets thereafter occupied Eastern [[Poland]] (September 1939), [[Latvia]] (June 1940), [[Lithuania]] (1940), northern [[Romania]] ([[Bessarabia]] and [[Northern Bukovina]], late June 1940), [[Estonia]] (1940) and eastern [[Finland]] (March 1940). From August 1939, relations between the West and the Soviets deteriorated further when the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany engaged in an extensive [[Nazi–Soviet economic relations|economic relationship]] by which the Soviet Union sent Germany vital oil, rubber, manganese and other materials in exchange for German weapons, manufacturing machinery and technology.{{sfn|Ericson|1999|pp=1–210}}{{sfn|Shirer|1990|pp=598–610}} Nazi–Soviet trade ended in June 1941 when Germany broke the Pact and invaded the Soviet Union in [[Operation Barbarossa]]. In the course of World War II, Stalin determined to acquire a buffer area against Germany, with pro-Soviet states on its border in an [[Eastern bloc]]. Stalin's aims led to strained relations at the [[Yalta Conference]] (February 1945) and the subsequent [[Potsdam Conference]] (July–August 1945).<ref> {{Citation |first=Gar |last=Alperovitz |title=Atomic Diplomacy: Hiroshima and Potsdam: The Use of the Atomic Bomb and the American Confrontation with Soviet Power|orig-date=1965 |year=1985|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-0-14-008337-8}}</ref> People in the West expressed 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. Nonetheless, at the [[Potsdam Conference]], the Allies assigned parts of Poland, Finland, Romania, Germany, and the Balkans to Soviet control or influence. In return, Stalin promised the Western Allies that he would allow those territories the right to [[Self-determination|National Self-Determination]]. Despite Soviet cooperation during the war, these concessions left many in the West uneasy. In particular, Churchill feared that the United States might return to its pre-war [[United States isolationism|Isolationism]], leaving the exhausted European states unable to resist Soviet demands. (President Franklin D. Roosevelt had announced at Yalta that after the defeat of Germany, U.S. forces would withdraw from Europe within two years.)<ref>[[Antony Beevor]] ''Berlin: The building of the Berlin Wall'', p. 80</ref> ===Churchill speech=== Winston Churchill's [[:s:Sinews of Peace|[https://winstonchurchill.org/resources/speeches/1946-1963-elder-statesman/the-sinews-of-peace/ "Sinews of Peace" address]]] of 5 March 1946, at [[Westminster College, Missouri|Westminster College]] in [[Fulton, Missouri]],<ref> [https://www.nationalchurchillmuseum.org/sinews-of-peace-iron-curtain-speech.html Sinews of Peace, 1946] </ref> publicly used the term "iron curtain" in the context of Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe: [[File:Iron Curtain as described by Churchill.PNG|thumb|The Iron Curtain as described by Churchill at Westminster College. Note that Vienna (''center, red regions, third down'') lies east of the Curtain, as part of the Austrian [[Allied-occupied Austria| Soviet-occupied zone of Austria]].]] {{blockquote|From [[Szczecin|Stettin]] in the [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]] to [[Trieste]] in the [[Adriatic Sea|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 must call the Soviet [[sphere of influence | sphere]], and all are subject, in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and in some cases increasing measure of control from Moscow.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Churchill|first1=Winston|title=The Sinews of Peace ('Iron Curtain Speech')|url= https://www.winstonchurchill.org/resources/speeches/1946-1963-elder-statesman/the-sinews-of-peace/|website= Winstonchurchill.org|publisher= [[International Churchill Society]]| access-date=2 December 2017|date= 5 March 1946}}</ref>}} Much of the [[Western world | Western]] public still regarded the [[Soviet Union]] as a close ally in the context of the 1945 defeat of [[Nazi Germany]] and of [[Empire of Japan| Imperial Japan]].{{cn|date=February 2023}}<ref> For public opinion in the United States, compare: {{cite book |last1 = Young |first1 = John W. |last2 = Kent |first2 = John |year = 2020 |orig-date = 2003 |chapter = Tensions in the Grand Alliance and Growing Confrontation, 1945–7 |title = International Relations Since 1945: a global history |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dLXRDwAAQBAJ |edition = 3 |location = Oxford |publisher = Oxford University Press |page = 44 |isbn = 9780198807612 |access-date = 22 February 2023 |quote = The President appeared ready to embark on a more confrontational approach as public opinion became less willing to trust the Soviets. It was in early 1946 that a crisis in Iran was to provide a basis for a confrontation [...]. }} </ref> Although not well received at the time, the phrase ''iron curtain'' gained popularity as a shorthand reference to the division of Europe as the Cold War progressed. The Iron Curtain served to keep people in, and information out. People throughout the West eventually came to accept and use the metaphor. Churchill's "Sinews of Peace" address strongly criticized the Soviet Union's exclusive and secretive tension policies along with the Eastern Europe's state form, the [[police state |Police Government]] ({{lang-de | Polizeistaat}}).<ref> {{cite web | url = https://www.nationalchurchillmuseum.org/sinews-of-peace-iron-curtain-speech.html | title = Sinews of Peace, 1946 | last = Churchill | first = Winston | author-link = Winston Churchill | orig-date = 5 March 1946 | publisher = National Churchill Museum | access-date = 22 February 2023 | quote = In these States, control is enforced upon the common people by various kinds of all-embracing police governments, to a degree which is overwhelming and contrary to every principle of democracy. }} </ref> He expressed the western Allied nations' distrust of the Soviet Union after the World War II. In September 1946, US-Soviet cooperation would collapse due to the US disavowal of the Soviet Union's opinion on the German problem in the [[Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt| Stuttgart Council]], and then followed the announcement by US President [[Harry S. Truman]] of a hard line anti-Soviet, anticommunist policy. After that the phrase ''iron curtain'' became more widely used as an anti-Soviet term in the West.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=1146410&cid=40942&categoryId=31656 |title= 철의 장막: 지식백과 |language=ko |publisher=Terms.naver.com |access-date= 2015-09-16}}</ref> Additionally, Churchill mentioned in his speech that regions under the Soviet Union's control were expanding their leverage and [[power (social and political) |Power]] without any restriction.<ref> Compare: {{cite web | url = https://www.nationalchurchillmuseum.org/sinews-of-peace-iron-curtain-speech.html | title = Sinews of Peace, 1946 | last = Churchill | first = Winston | author-link = Winston Churchill | orig-date = 5 March 1946 | publisher = National Churchill Museum | access-date = 22 February 2023 | quote = I do not believe that Soviet Russia desires war. What they desire is the fruits of war and the indefinite expansion of their power and doctrines. }} </ref> He asserted that in order to put a brake on this ongoing phenomenon, the commanding force of and strong unity between the UK and the US was necessary.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=72578&cid=504&categoryId=504 |title=철의 장막: 지식백과 |language=ko |publisher=Terms.naver.com |access-date=2015-09-16}}</ref> Stalin took note of Churchill's speech and responded in ''[[Pravda]]'' in mid-March 1946. He accused Churchill of warmongering, and defended Soviet "friendship" with eastern-European states as a necessary safeguard against another invasion. Stalin further accused Churchill of hoping to install right-wing governments in eastern Europe with the goal of agitating those states against the Soviet Union.<ref>{{cite web|author=Stalin |url= http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1946/03/x01.htm |title=Interview to "Pravda" Correspondent Concerning Mr. Winston Churchill's Speech |publisher= Marxists.org |access-date=2015-09-16}}</ref> [[Andrei Zhdanov]], Stalin's chief propagandist, used the term against the West in an August 1946 speech:<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.revolutionarydemocracy.org/archive/zhdanovlit.htm |title= Zhdanov: On Literature, Music and Philosophy|website= revolutionarydemocracy.org }}</ref> {{Block quote|Hard as bourgeois politicians and writers may strive to conceal the truth of the achievements of the Soviet order and Soviet culture, hard as they may strive to erect an iron curtain to keep the truth about the Soviet Union from penetrating abroad, hard as they may strive to belittle the genuine growth and scope of Soviet culture, all their efforts are foredoomed to failure.}} ===Political, economic, and military realities=== ====Eastern Bloc==== [[File:EasternBloc BasicMembersOnly.svg|thumb|A map of the [[Eastern Bloc]]]] {{Main|Eastern Bloc}} While the Iron Curtain remained in place, much of Eastern Europe and many parts of Central Europe – except [[West Germany]], [[Liechtenstein]], [[Switzerland]], and most of [[Austria]] (all of Austria after the withdrawal of occupying Allied forces and the [[Declaration of Neutrality|declaration of Austria's neutrality]] that resulted from the [[Austrian State Treaty]] in 1955) – found themselves under the hegemony of the [[Soviet Union]]. The Soviet Union annexed: * [[Estonian SSR|Estonia]]<ref name="wettig20" /><ref name="senn" /> * [[Latvian SSR|Latvia]]<ref name="wettig20">{{Harvnb|Wettig|2008|p=21}}</ref><ref name="senn">Senn, Alfred Erich, ''Lithuania 1940: Revolution from Above'', Amsterdam, New York, Rodopi, 2007 {{ISBN|978-90-420-2225-6}}</ref> * [[Lithuanian SSR|Lithuania]]<ref name="wettig20" /><ref name="senn" /> as [[Soviet Socialist Republics]] within the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]]. Germany effectively gave Moscow a free hand in much of these territories in the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]] of 1939, signed before Germany [[Operation Barbarossa|invaded the Soviet Union]] in 1941. Other Soviet-annexed territories included: * [[Kresy|Eastern Poland]] (incorporated into the [[Territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union|Ukrainian and Byelorussian SSRs]]),<ref name="stalinswars43">{{Harvnb| Roberts| 2006| p=43}}</ref> * Part of eastern [[Finland]] (became part of the [[Karelo-Finnish SSR]])<ref name="ckpipe">Kennedy-Pipe, Caroline, ''Stalin's Cold War'', New York: Manchester University Press, 1995, {{ISBN|0-7190-4201-1}}</ref> * Northern [[Romania]] (part of which became the [[Moldavian SSR]]).{{sfn|Roberts|2006|p=55}}{{sfn|Shirer|1990|p=794}} *[[Kaliningrad Oblast]], the northern half of [[East Prussia]], taken in 1945. *Part of eastern [[Czechoslovakia]] ([[Carpathian Ruthenia]], incorporated into the Ukrainian SSR). Between 1945 and 1949 the Soviets converted the following areas into [[satellite state]]s: * The [[East Germany|German Democratic Republic]]<ref name="wettig96">{{Harvnb|Wettig|2008|pp=96–100}}</ref> * The [[People's Republic of Bulgaria]] * The [[People's Republic of Poland]] * The [[Hungarian People's Republic]]<ref name="granville">Granville, Johanna, ''The First Domino: International Decision Making during the Hungarian Crisis of 1956'', Texas A&M University Press, 2004. {{ISBN|1-58544-298-4}}</ref> * The [[Czechoslovak Socialist Republic]]<ref>{{Harvnb|Grenville|2005|pp=370–371}}</ref> * The [[People's Republic of Romania]] * The [[People's Republic of Albania]]<ref name="cook17">{{Harvnb|Cook|2001|p=17}}</ref> (which re-aligned itself in the 1950s and early 1960s [[Soviet-Albanian split|away from the Soviet Union]] towards the [[China|People's Republic of China]] (PRC) and split from the PRC [[Sino-Albanian Split|towards a strongly isolationist worldview]] in the late 1970s) Soviet-installed governments ruled the Eastern Bloc countries, with the exception of the [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]], which changed its orientation [[Tito–Stalin split|away from the Soviet Union]] in the late 1940s to a progressively [[Non-aligned Movement|independent worldview]]. The majority of European states to the east of the Iron Curtain developed their own international economic and military alliances, such as [[Comecon]] and the [[Warsaw Pact]]. ====West of the Iron Curtain==== [[File:Curtain germany.jpg|thumb|Fence along the east–west border in Germany (near [[Witzenhausen]]-[[Heilbad Heiligenstadt|Heiligenstadt]])]] [[File:1 K zone.png|thumb|upright|Sign warning of approach to within one kilometer of the inter-zonal German border, 1986]] 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 economy|Market Economies]]. With the exception of a period of [[Francoist Spain|Fascism in Spain]] (until [[Spanish transition to democracy|1975]]) and [[Estado Novo (Portugal)|Portugal]] (until [[Carnation Revolution|1974]]) and a [[Greek military junta of 1967–1974|military dictatorship in Greece (1967–1974)]], [[Democracy|democratic governments]] ruled these countries. Most of the states of Europe to the west of the Iron Curtain – with the exception of [[Neutral country|neutral]] [[Switzerland]], [[Liechtenstein]], [[Austria]], [[Sweden]], [[Finland]], [[Malta]] and [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] – allied themselves with [[Canada]], the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[United States]] within [[NATO]]. [[Spain]] was a unique anomaly in that it stayed neutral and non-aligned until 1982, when, following democracy's return, it joined NATO. Economically, the [[European Community]] (EC) and the [[European Free Trade Association]] represented Western counterparts to [[COMECON]]. Most of the nominally neutral states were economically closer to the United States than they were to the [[Warsaw Pact]].{{citation needed|date=July 2012}} ====Further division in the late 1940s==== {{Further|Marshall Plan|Falsifiers of History|Berlin Airlift|Czechoslovak coup d'état of 1948}} In January 1947, [[Harry Truman]] appointed General [[George Marshall]] as Secretary of State, scrapped Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) directive 1067 (which embodied the [[Morgenthau Plan]]), and supplanted it with JCS 1779, which decreed that an orderly and prosperous Europe requires the economic contributions of a stable and productive Germany."<ref name="beschloss277">{{Harvnb|Beschloss|2003|p=277}}</ref> Officials met with Soviet Foreign Minister [[Vyacheslav Molotov]] and others to press for an economically self-sufficient Germany, including a detailed accounting of the industrial plants, goods and infrastructure already removed by the Soviets.<ref name="miller16">{{Harvnb|Miller|2000|p=16}}</ref> After five and a half weeks of negotiations, Molotov refused the demands and the talks were adjourned.<ref name="miller16"/> Marshall was particularly discouraged after personally meeting with Stalin, who expressed little interest in a solution to German economic problems.<ref name="miller16"/> The United States concluded that a solution could not wait any longer.<ref name="miller16"/> In a 5 June 1947 speech,<ref name="marshallspeech">Marshall, George C, [[s:The Marshall Plan Speech|''The Marshal Plan Speech'']], 5 June 1947</ref> Marshall announced a comprehensive program of American assistance to all European countries wanting to participate, including the Soviet Union and those of Eastern Europe, called the [[Marshall Plan]].<ref name="miller16"/> Stalin opposed the Marshall Plan. He had built up the [[Eastern Bloc]] protective belt of Soviet-controlled nations on his Western border,<ref name="miller10">{{Harvnb|Miller|2000|p=10}}</ref> and wanted to maintain this buffer zone of states combined with a weakened Germany under Soviet control.<ref name="miller11">{{Harvnb|Miller|2000|p=11}}</ref> Fearing American political, cultural and economic penetration, Stalin eventually forbade Soviet [[Eastern bloc]] countries of the newly formed [[Cominform]] from accepting [[Marshall Plan]] aid.<ref name="miller16"/> In [[Czechoslovakia]], that required a Soviet-backed [[Czechoslovak coup d'état of 1948]],<ref name=trueye>''Airbridge to Berlin'', "Eye of the Storm" chapter</ref> the brutality of which shocked Western powers more than any event so far and set in a motion a brief scare that war would occur and swept away the last vestiges of opposition to the Marshall Plan in the United States Congress.<ref name="miller19">{{Harvnb|Miller|2000|p=19}}</ref> Relations further deteriorated when, in January 1948, the [[United States Department of State|U.S. State Department]] also published a collection of documents titled ''Nazi-Soviet Relations, 1939–1941: Documents from the Archives of The German Foreign Office'', which contained documents recovered from the Foreign Office of [[Nazi Germany]]<ref name="henig67"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Department of State|1948|p=preface}}</ref> revealing Soviet conversations with Germany regarding the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact negotiations|Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact]], including its secret protocol dividing eastern Europe,<ref name="roberts97">{{Harvnb|Roberts|2002|p=97}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Department of State|1948|p=78}}</ref> the [[German–Soviet Commercial Agreement (1939)|1939 German-Soviet Commercial Agreement]],<ref name="roberts97"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Department of State|1948|pp=32–77}}</ref> and [[German–Soviet Axis talks|discussions of the Soviet Union potentially becoming the fourth Axis Power]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Churchill|1953|pp=512–524}}</ref> In response, one month later, the Soviet Union published ''[[Falsifiers of History]]'', a Stalin-edited and partially re-written book attacking the West.<ref name="henig67">{{Harvnb|Henig|2005|p=67}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Roberts|2002|p=96}}</ref> After the Marshall Plan, the introduction of a new currency to Western Germany to replace the debased [[Reichsmark]] and massive electoral losses for communist parties, in June 1948, the Soviet Union cut off surface road access to [[Berlin]], initiating the [[Berlin Blockade]], which cut off all non-Soviet food, water and other supplies for the citizens of the non-Soviet sectors of Berlin.<ref name="miller25">{{Harvnb|Miller|2000|pp=25–31}}</ref> Because Berlin was located within the Soviet-occupied zone of Germany, the only available methods of supplying the city were three limited air corridors.<ref name="miller6">{{Harvnb|Miller|2000|pp=6–7}}</ref> A massive aerial supply campaign was initiated by the United States, Britain, France, and other countries, the success of which caused the Soviets to lift their blockade in May 1949. ===Emigration restrictions=== {{Main|Emigration from the Eastern Bloc}} [[File:Iron curtain in Czech Republic 2007.jpg|thumb|Remains of Iron Curtain in former Czechoslovakia at the Czech-German border]] One of the conclusions of the [[Yalta Conference]] was that the western Allies would [[Operation Keelhaul|return all Soviet citizens]] who found themselves in their zones to the Soviet Union.<ref>{{cite web |first=Jacob |last=Hornberger |title=Repatriation – The Dark Side of World War II |publisher=The Future of Freedom Foundation |year=1995 |url=http://www.fff.org/freedom/0495a.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014115546/http://www.fff.org/freedom/0495a.asp |archive-date=14 October 2012 }}</ref> This affected the liberated Soviet prisoners of war (branded as traitors), forced laborers, anti-Soviet collaborators with the Germans, and anti-communist refugees.<ref>{{cite book |author=Nikolai Tolstoy| title=The Secret Betrayal | publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons | year = 1977 | isbn = 0-684-15635-0 | page = 360 | author-link=Nikolai Tolstoy | title-link=The Secret Betrayal }}</ref> Migration from east to west of the Iron Curtain, except under limited circumstances, was effectively halted after 1950. Before 1950, over 15 million people (mainly ethnic Germans) emigrated from Soviet-occupied eastern European countries to the west in the five years immediately following [[World War II]].<ref name="bocker207">{{Harvnb|Böcker|1998|p=207}}</ref> However, restrictions implemented during the Cold War stopped most east–west migration, with only 13.3 million migrations westward between 1950 and 1990.<ref name="bocker209">{{Harvnb|Böcker|1998|p=209}}</ref> More than 75% of those emigrating from Eastern Bloc countries between 1950 and 1990 did so under bilateral agreements for "ethnic migration."<ref name="bocker209"/> About 10% were refugees permitted to emigrate under the [[Geneva Convention]] of 1951.<ref name="bocker209"/> Most Soviets allowed to leave during this time period were ethnic Jews permitted to emigrate to Israel after a series of embarrassing defections in 1970 caused the Soviets to open very limited ethnic emigrations.<ref>{{Harvnb|Krasnov|1985|pp=1, 126}}</ref> The fall of the Iron Curtain was accompanied by a massive rise in European East-West migration.<ref name="bocker209"/> === Physical barrier === {{more citations needed section|date=March 2014}} {{Quotebox | quote = “Behind me stands a wall that encircles the free sectors of this city, part of a vast system of barriers that divides the entire continent of Europe. From the Baltic, south, those barriers cut across Germany in a gash of barbed wire, concrete, dog runs, and guard towers. Farther south, there may be no visible, no obvious wall. But there remain armed guards and checkpoints all the same{{snd}}still a restriction on the right to travel, still an instrument to impose upon ordinary men and women the will of a totalitarian state.” | source = – [[Ronald Reagan]] at the [[Tear down this wall!]] speech in 1987, which was written by [[Peter Robinson (speechwriter)|Peter Robinson]] | align = right | width = 250px | salign = right }} The Iron Curtain took physical shape in the form of border defences between the countries of western and eastern Europe. There were some of the most heavily militarised areas in the world, particularly the so-called "[[inner German border]]" – commonly known as ''die Grenze'' in German – between East and West Germany. Elsewhere along the border between West and East, the defence works resembled those on the intra-German border. During the Cold War, the border zone in Hungary started {{convert|15|km}} from the border. Citizens could only enter the area if they lived in the zone or had a passport valid for traveling out. Traffic control points and patrols enforced this regulation. Those who lived within the {{convert|15|km}} border-zone needed special permission to enter the area within {{convert|5|km}} of the border. The area was very difficult to approach and heavily fortified. In the 1950s and 1960s, a double barbed-wire fence was installed {{convert|50|m}} from the border. The space between the two fences was laden with [[land mine]]s. The minefield was later replaced with an electric signal fence (about {{convert|1|km}} from the border) and a barbed wire fence, along with guard towers and a sand strip to track border violations. Regular patrols sought to prevent escape attempts. They included cars and mounted units. Guards and dog patrol units watched the border 24/7 and were authorised to use their weapons to stop escapees. The wire fence nearest the actual border was irregularly displaced from the actual border, which was marked only by stones. Anyone attempting to escape would have to cross up to {{convert|400|m}} before they could cross the actual border. Several escape attempts failed when the escapees were stopped after crossing the outer fence.{{Clarification needed|reason=Does this apply to the inner German border or the entire Iron Curtain?|date=December 2022}} The creation of these highly militarised 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. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, several initiatives are pursuing the creation of a [[European Green Belt]] nature preserve area along the Iron Curtain's former route. In fact, a [[long-distance cycling route]] along the length of the former border called the [[Iron Curtain Trail]] (ICT) exists as a project of the European Union and other associated nations. The trail is {{Convert|6800|km|abbr=on}} long and spans from [[Finland]] to [[Greece]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Iron Curtain Trail |url=http://www.ironcurtaintrail.eu/en/der_iron_curtain_trail/index.html |access-date=2013-11-16 |publisher=Ironcurtaintrail.eu}}</ref> The term "Iron Curtain" was only used for the fortified borders in Europe; it was not used for similar borders in Asia between socialist and capitalist states (these were, for a time, dubbed the [[Bamboo Curtain]]). The [[Korean Demilitarized Zone|border between North Korea and South Korea]] is very comparable to the former inner German border, particularly in its degree of militarisation, but it has never conventionally been considered part of any Iron Curtain. ==== Soviet Union ==== ===== Land border to Finland and Norway ===== [[File:Russisch-finse grens. Grenswachtpatrioulles bij slagboom, Bestanddeelnr 254-7426.jpg|thumb|right|[[Finnish Border Guard]]s at the border area in 1967]] [[File:Finland-Russia border.jpg|thumb|right|the [[Finnish-Russian border]] line]] {{Further information|Finland–Russia border#Soviet-Finnish border during the Cold War|Norway–Russia border#Cold War}} The Soviet Union built a fence along the entire border towards [[Norway]] and [[Finland]]. It is located one or a few kilometres from the border, and has automatic alarms detecting if someone climbs over it. Historian Juha Pohjonen stated in a 2005 study that people who escaped the USSR to Finland were sent back, based on a policy that was implemented [[Unilateralism|unilaterally]] by [[Urho Kekkonen|Uhro Kekkonen]] when he took office in 1956.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Finland repatriated Soviet defectors |url=https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/15746 |access-date=2023-02-09 |website=[[History News Network]]|date=15 September 2005 }}</ref> ===== Sea border of the Baltics ===== {{Further|Soviet Border Troops#Red Banner Baltic Border District|Occupation of the Baltic states}} ====== Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic ====== [[File:Endine_piirivalve_vaatlustorn_Uitru_s%C3%A4%C3%A4rel.JPG|Former Soviet [[watchtower]] at the coast of Estonia|thumb]] {{Section empty|date=January 2023}} See also the {{Interlanguage link multi|USSR border guard in Estonia|et|3=NSV_Liidu_piirivalve_Eestis}} ====== Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic ====== {{Section empty|date=January 2023}} ====== Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic ====== {{Section empty|date=January 2023}} ==== Poland ==== {{Section empty|date=January 2023}} The People's Republic of Poland was a satellite state of the Soviet Union. It bordered no western countries, but it had many ports to the baltic sea. ==== German Democratic Republic ==== [[File:Moedlareuth Museum 2002b.jpg|thumb|Preserved section of the border between [[East Germany]] and West Germany called the "Little Berlin Wall" at [[Mödlareuth]]]] [[File:Point Alpha Ostseite.jpg|thumb|Fence along the former east–west border in Germany]] {{Main articles|Inner German border}} 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 installation of the Wall in 1961 brought an end to a decade during which the divided capital of divided Germany was one of the easiest places to move west across the Iron Curtain.<ref>Keeling, Drew (2014), business-of-migration.com [http://www.business-of-migration.com/migration-processes/other-regions/berlin-wall-and-migration/ "Berlin Wall and Migration," ''Migration as a travel business'']</ref> 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. 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. Several villages, many historic, were destroyed as they lay too close to the border, for example [[Erlebach]]. Shooting incidents were not uncommon, and several hundred civilians and 28 East German border guards were killed between 1948 and 1981 (some may have been victims of "[[friendly fire]]" by their own side). The [[Helmstedt–Marienborn border crossing]] ({{lang-de|Grenzübergang Helmstedt-Marienborn}}), named ''Grenzübergangsstelle Marienborn'' (GÜSt) by the [[German Democratic Republic]] (GDR), was the largest and most important border crossing on the [[Inner German border]] during the [[History of Germany since 1945|division of Germany]]. Due to its geographical location, allowing for the shortest land route between [[West Germany]] and [[West Berlin]], most transit traffic to and from West Berlin used the Helmstedt-Marienborn crossing. Most travel routes from West Germany to [[German Democratic Republic|East Germany]] and [[Poland]] also used this crossing. The border crossing existed from 1945 to 1990 and was situated near the East German village of [[Marienborn]] at the edge of the [[Lappwald]]. The crossing interrupted the [[Bundesautobahn 2]] (A 2) between the junctions ''[[Helmstedt]]-Ost'' and ''[[Ostingersleben]]''. <gallery> File:Grensovergang-helmstedt-marienborn-paspoortcontrole-personenautos-04.JPG File:Grensovergang-helmstedt-marienborn-paspoortcontrole-vrachtautos.JPG File:Grensovergang-helmstedt-marienborn-lichtmast-commandotoren-brug.JPG File:Grensovergang-helmstedt-marienborn-lichtmast-02.JPG </gallery> ===== Berlin Wall ===== {{Main articles|Berlin Wall}} ==== Czechoslovakia ==== {{Further|Czechoslovak border fortifications during the Cold War|Protection of Czechoslovak borders during the Cold War}} 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.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Cold river: the cold truth of freedom|last=Imrich, Jozef.|date=2005|publisher=Double Dragon|isbn=9781554043118|location=East Markham, Ontario|oclc=225346736}}</ref> ==== Hungary ==== The Hungarian outer fence became the first part of the Iron Curtain to be dismantled. After the border fortifications were dismantled, a section was rebuilt for a formal ceremony. On 27 June 1989, the [[foreign minister]]s of Austria and Hungary, [[Alois Mock]] and [[Gyula Horn]], ceremonially cut through the border defences separating their countries. ==== Romania ==== The number of victims that died at the Romanian border far exceeded the number of victims at the Berlin Wall.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Constantinoiu |first1=Marina |last2=Deak |first2=Istvan |title=Why were the East Germans taking the Romania route to West Germany? |url=https://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Romania/Why-were-the-East-Germans-taking-the-Romania-route-to-West-Germany-180488 |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=[[Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa]] |language=it}}</ref> ==== Bulgaria ==== The Yugoslav-Bulgarian border{{efn|Present-day Serbian-Bulgarian and North Macedonian-Bulgarian border}} became closed in 1948 after the [[Tito–Stalin split]]. The area around the border was restructured, with land ownership on both sides no longer legal. Loudspeakers were installed for spreading propaganda and insults. The installations were not as impressive as the one on for example the inner-German border, but they resembled the same system.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1248760000 |title=The Balkan Route: Historical Transformations from Via Militaris to Autoput |date=2021 |others=Vladimir Aleksić, Tatjana Katić, Sandra King-Savić, Matthew Larnach, Dobrinka Parusheva, Florian Riedler, Florian Riedler, Nenad Stefanov, Nenad Stefanov |isbn=978-3-11-061856-3 |location=Berlin |oclc=1248760000}}</ref> In the GDR, there was a long time rumor that the border of Bulgaria was easier to cross than the inner German border for escaping the East Bloc.<ref>{{Cite web |title='The Bulgarian border was extremely dangerous' – DW – 04/11/2019 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/the-bulgarian-border-was-extremely-dangerous/a-48290175 |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=dw.com |language=en}}</ref> In [[Greece]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Beyond the Berlin Wall: The forgotten collapse of Bulgaria's 'wall' |date=5 November 2019 |url=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2019/11/05/beyond-the-berlin-wall-the-forgotten-collapse-of-bulgarias-wall/}}</ref> a highly militarized area called the "Επιτηρούμενη Ζώνη" ("Surveillance Area") was created by the Greek Army along the Greek-Bulgarian border, subject to significant security-related regulations and restrictions. Inhabitants within this {{convert|25|km}} wide strip of land were forbidden to drive cars, own land bigger than {{convert|60|m2}}, and had to travel within the area with a special passport issued by Greek military authorities. Additionally, the Greek state used this area to encapsulate and monitor a non-Greek ethnic minority, the [[Pomaks]], a Muslim and Bulgarian-speaking minority which was regarded as hostile to the interests of the Greek state during the Cold War because of its familiarity with their fellow Pomaks living on the other side of the Iron Curtain.<ref>[https://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/ibru/publications/full/bsb7-2_labrianidis.pdf Lois Labrianidis, The impact of the Greek military surveillance zone on the Greek side of the Bulgarian-Greek borderlands], 1999</ref> The border was dismantled at the end of the 1990s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Breuer |first=Rayna |title=Dangerous escape: Fleeing the GDR through Bulgaria|date=2019-11-04 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/dangerous-escape-fleeing-the-gdr-through-bulgaria/a-48283254 |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=[[Deutsche Welle]] |language=en}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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