In particular, Churchill feared that the United States might return to its prewar isolationism, leaving the exhausted European states unable to resist Soviet demands. symbolic representation of selected characteristics of a place, usually drawn on a flat surface. Truman in particular believed Roosevelt had been too trusting of Stalin, and became extremely suspicious of Soviet actions and Stalins true intensions. Albania leaves the Waras Pack in middle of cold war. All Rights Reserved. Private homes, public warehouses, stores, government agencies and banks all received the same treatment. Alexander Murphy, Professor of Geography and Rippey Chair in Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of Geography, University of Oregon Identify physical and cultural features of Europe.

After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, it was decided that the geopolitical climate was ripe for countries to join a true European Uniona Union with some political capacityand to unify currencies. And the U.S.S.R. included Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine, and occupied northern East Prussia. 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. which had lowered an iron curtain across Europe. If students have difficulty identifying changes, prompt them with questions like the following: 4. In February 1948, the Soviet-sponsored Communist Party of Czechoslovakia assumed control of the government in a, The Bombing of Coventry 1415 November 1940. It is my duty to place before you certain facts about the present situation in Europe. Explain to students that the European Union, or EU, is an association of European countries formed in 1993 for the purpose of achieving political and economic integration. The attempts by the Central Intelligence Agency-funded Radio Free Europe (RFE) to provide listeners behind the Curtain with uncensored news were met with efforts by communist governments to jam RFEs signal. The Yalta agreement on occupation zones in German and Austria were confirmed, as well as the prosecution of Nazi war criminals and reestablishment of the Polish government. 8 0 obj From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an Iron Curtain has descended across the continent. In July 1945 the heads of government of the United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union met to determine how postwar Germany would be administered. Grains and other victuals were seized in huge quantities. The euro was unveiled to the public on January 1, 2002. Albania leaves the Waras Pack in middle of cold war; this is why it's shown wtih stripes. Member countries of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance and the Warsaw Pact, with the Soviet Union as the leading state, Member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) with the United States as the preeminent power. In contrast, East Germany was allied by the Soviet Union and fell under highly centralized communist rule. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). It would mean a disaster and return to a status quo very similar to the Iron Curtain. Germans, civilians and prisoners of wars, would be punished for the war (reparations) partially through forced labor to repair the damage they caused to their country and to others. The Allied Powers and the Central Powers backed the White movement against the Bolsheviks during the 19181920 Russian Civil War, a fact not forgotten by the Soviets. Its worth noting that colored maps like those from Eurostat do not show any divide between East and West in many fields, from agriculture structure to heart disease prevalence. The timing of the bombings, on August 6 and 9 suggest that Truman preferred to keep the Soviet Union out of the Pacific War and out of post-war dealings with Japan. Updates? Size of this PNG preview of this SVG file: Map showing the political division of Europe after World War II ended up until the end of the Cold War. The speech was the first time the Emperor had spoken to the common people.in wikipedia, With the support of the Soviet Union, the Azerbaijan National Assembly declared the creation of the Azerbaijan Peoples Government in Tabriz, in Soviet-occupied northwest Iran.in wikipedia, By the end of 1945, the Allies had withdrawn from Italy, except for the British Commonwealth forces in Udine and Venezia Giulia, and Yugoslav forces in the disputed territory of Istria. Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service. If you have the map transparencies, overlay them to show how borders have changed. 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. Michal LeVasseur, Ph.D., National Geographic Alliance Network Liaison The restrictions and the rigidity of the Iron Curtain were somewhat reduced in the years following Joseph Stalins death in 1953, although the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 restored them. Emmy Scammahorn, National Geographic Society Students analyze borders that have changed and others that have remained the same.     Join our community of educators and receive the latest information on National Geographic's resources for you and your students. Correcting mistake : Austria wasn't in NATO. Examine the building of the Berlin Wall, which closed off access to West Berlin from East Berlin and East Germany. Explain to students that they will compare maps of European borders at three points in history. Contact Us. The final agreements at Potsdam concerned: As per its Yalta agreement, the Soviet Union was set to invade Japan on August 15. More than 40,000 subscribers can't be wrong. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media. The Iron Curtain meant great riches for Mother Russia and much suffering for the occupied locals, and 26 years after the fall of the Iron Curtain and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the ripples of its influence are still present. Stalins actions in Poland, and other parts of Eastern Europe were well known by this time, and it was clear that he was not to be trusted to hold his end of the bargain. Andrei Zhdanov, Stalins chief propagandist, used the term against the West in an August 1946 speech: Iron Curtain: The Iron Curtain depicted as a black line. Now, these borders are dissolved and many chose to move elsewhere where they get paid better, can grow professionally and have better odds to raise a happy family. Do the physical features explain the border stability? Kim Hulse, National Geographic Society Audrey Mohan, 2007-2008 Grosvenor Scholar, National Geographic Society 1145 17th Street NW Emily Wade, B.A. After the Potsdam conference, Germany was divided into four occupied zones: Great Britain in the northwest, France in the southwest, the United States in the south and the Soviet Union in the east. Reverted to version as of 07:07, 27 May 2014 (UTC). Its hard to tell. Students compare and contrast maps of European borders at three points in history: after World War I, after World War II, and the 2011 European Union countries. In 2013, the GDP per capita for the Russian Federation was $14,612, while the that of Germany was $46,268 (roughly three times more). The most notable border was marked by the Berlin Wall and its Checkpoint Charlie, which served as a symbol of the Curtain as a whole. And although weve made a lot of progress in the 20 years since the wall fell, we havent had the money we would have liked to equalise the two parts of the city.. <> Within this article, I included some maps that highlight its inglorious legacy. 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. Christina Riska Simmons, National Geographic Society 1996 - 2022 National Geographic Society.

Valuable machines, and in numerous instances whole plants, were dismantled and removed to the Soviet Union. When you reach out to them, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource. 3. Six countriesthe Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, France, and Italyformed the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). Under their occupying governments, the two Germanys followed very different paths. In return, Stalin promised the Western Allies he would allow those territories the right to national self-determination. 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 strengthened. Post-war negotiations took place at two conferences in 1945, one before the official end of the war, and one after. Ethel Snowden, a British feminist, was likely to the first to use the term Iron Curtain in itscurrent political and historical context all the way back in 1920 when she published a book calledThrough Bolshevik Russia,a veryearly and negative critique of the Bolshevik form of communism. On either side of the Iron Curtain, states developed their own international military alliances, namely the Warsaw Pact and NATO. During the Cold War the Iron Curtain extended to the airwaves. In March of 1946 Churchill visited the US and spoke at Fulton, Missouri about the rising threat of Soviet expansion and its perversion: Ashadow has fallen upon the scenes [recently] lighted by the Allied victory. Having their troops and secret agents infiltrated through half of Europe all the way to Germany, the Soviet Union as a matter of convenience decided to keep control of all of these regions it had "liberated" during the war. Using a different color, ask students to highlight the political borders that have changed significantly over time. Have students compare and contrast historical maps of Europe and cultural maps. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Have students answer the same questions for cultural groupings. The Russian population is fantastically concentrated in just a few cities, most prominently Moscow and St. Petersburg, while western Europe seems to never sleep. Berlin was divided into two parts for over 40 years, explains Christa Mientus-Schirmer of Berlins city government for The Guardian. The black dot represents Berlin. Unfortunately, since the last major recession in 2008 and the massive waves of refugees from the Middle East, the old continent seems on the brink of division. Check for student understanding by viewing their notes as they compare and contrast the three maps with physical and cultural maps, and questioning their thinking. Distribute three maps to each student: Europe, 1920; Europe, 1960; and The European Union, 2011, or project the maps on the board. This shot shows Europe at night. Newsroom| In addition to the Republics, several countries in Eastern Europe operated as Soviet satellite states. Russia and Germany became dramatically smaller, and the Russian revolution of 1917 led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The ECSC was such a wild success that these countries eventually signed further treaties eliminating many of the tariffs on other products between them. As WWII drew to an end, the Nazis had not only lost control of all their previously occupied territories and allied states, but also much of their fatherland. This color shows the expected change in 2015 compared to the year 1990. Roosevelt had died in April, so his successor,President Harry Truman, represented the United States. This photo was shared by Canadian astronautChris Hadfield who made the shot on board the International Space Station. East vs West Germany. However, even now the wealthy and powerful elite of Eastern European countries live outside the rule of law, while corruption permeates, ranging from low-level clerks to magistrates to even ministers. Have students make the same comparison for the borders that have changed significantly over time. Have students compare and contrast historical maps of Europe and a physical map. xnM"*GbDc@y I"df^|:3}H>uUu{ug?}=?[g~?7~9|5Vc'?9g?|W{K[9?lrv xvGO~AB'PqzPWV_zcwoe1y_Gl#XjZUGVz~Wz[yn/]?

At the insistence of Poland and the Soviet Union, the provisional eastern boundary of occupied Germany was moved west to the Oder and Neisse rivers, with the Soviet Union annexing northern East Prussia; and Poland annexing southern East Prussia, East Pomerania, Silesia, Danzig, and part of Brandenburg while ceding much of its eastern territory to the Soviets. Regardless of who coined the term or what you choose to call it, the reality is that a 4,000 miles long border running fromEstonia in the north to Yugoslavia in the south effectively delimited the Soviet Unions new influence. Simply put, it indicates that there are fewer young people in the east as adirect consequence of fleeing talent to the west. Each countrys leader had his own set of ideas for rebuilding and re-establishing order in the war-torn continent. The Inglorious Legacy of the Iron Curtain in 20 Maps. Privacy Notice| You can clearly see how densely populated the western part of the continent is compared to the east.

The Iron Curtain largely ceased to exist in 198990 with the communists abandonment of one-party rule in eastern Europe. The colors of the map indicate the estimated population changes between 1990 (the year of unification) and 2015 (based on SEDAC population estimates). For example, rails replace rivers for transport, roads make mountains passable, some streams change course, and natural resources are used. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The antagonism between the Soviet Union and the West that came to be described as the iron curtain had various origins.