Cold War
Combatants: The United States of America v. The Soviet Union, the Eastern block.
Named the “Cold” War as neither combatant officially declared war on each other-there existed a generally chilly, distrustful atmosphere.
Historians have identified the causes that led to the outbreak of the Cold War: tensions between the two nations at the end of World War II, the ideological conflict between both the United States and the Soviet Union, and the emergence of nuclear weapons.
Closely associated with The Cold War is the term the “Iron Curtain”. The phrase had been used as a metaphor since the 19th century, but the phrase is most associated with former British prime minister Winston Churchill. In a speech at Fulton, Missouri, March 5, 1946, Churchill referred to the political, military, and ideological barrier erected by the Soviet Union after World War II to seal itself off and its dependent eastern and central European allies. Contact with the West and other noncommunist nations ceased. Alluding to communist states he said:
“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.”
A physical manifestation of “The Iron Curtain” arose in 1961, Berlin, Germany with the construction of the Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall stood until November 9, 1989, when the head of the East German Communist Party announced that citizens of the GDR could cross the border unfettered. Citizens on both sides of The Berlin Wall began destroying it, but one key remnant of the Cold War remains.
“Checkpoint Charlie”, the American Army border guardhouse that stood between East and West Germany.
If you notice errors, omissions or have additional information, please contact Jan Williams at: jwilliams@co.morris.nj.us