Matilda Plambeck
26/06/20
The Iron Curtain and the Soviet takeover of
Eastern Europe
The “iron curtain”
The Potsdam conference ended without any complete
agreement on Germany, Reparations or Eastern
Europe
Over the next 9 months, Stalin achieved dictatorship
over what he wanted of eastern Europe, with Poland,
Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania owing their
loyalty to Stalin.
Churchill described the boarder between Soviet-ruled
countries and the West as an “iron curtain.”
“A shadow has fallen upon the scenes so lately lighted
by the Allied victory. From Stettin on the Baltic to
Trieste on the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended.
Behind that line lie all the states of central and eastern
Europe. The Communist parties have been raised to
power far beyond their numbers and are seeking
everywhere to obtain totalitarian control. This is
certainly not the liberated Europe we fought to build.
Nor is it one which allows permanent peace.”- The
speech by Winston Churchill
“The following circumstances should not be forgotten.
The Germans made their invasion of the USSR through
Finland, Poland and Romania. The Germans were able
to make their invasion through these countries
because, at the time, governments hostile to the
Soviet Union existed in these countries. What can
there be surprising about the fact that the Soviet
Union, anxious for its future safety, is trying to see to
it that governments loyal in their attitude to the Soviet
26/06/20
The Iron Curtain and the Soviet takeover of
Eastern Europe
The “iron curtain”
The Potsdam conference ended without any complete
agreement on Germany, Reparations or Eastern
Europe
Over the next 9 months, Stalin achieved dictatorship
over what he wanted of eastern Europe, with Poland,
Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania owing their
loyalty to Stalin.
Churchill described the boarder between Soviet-ruled
countries and the West as an “iron curtain.”
“A shadow has fallen upon the scenes so lately lighted
by the Allied victory. From Stettin on the Baltic to
Trieste on the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended.
Behind that line lie all the states of central and eastern
Europe. The Communist parties have been raised to
power far beyond their numbers and are seeking
everywhere to obtain totalitarian control. This is
certainly not the liberated Europe we fought to build.
Nor is it one which allows permanent peace.”- The
speech by Winston Churchill
“The following circumstances should not be forgotten.
The Germans made their invasion of the USSR through
Finland, Poland and Romania. The Germans were able
to make their invasion through these countries
because, at the time, governments hostile to the
Soviet Union existed in these countries. What can
there be surprising about the fact that the Soviet
Union, anxious for its future safety, is trying to see to
it that governments loyal in their attitude to the Soviet
