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Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
    Iron Curtain date
T1

In the months following their victory in World War II, the alliance between the Soviet Union and the West quickly proves to be little more than a marriage of convenience. Suspicion clouds relations -- while a curtain descends over Europe.


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Churchill Reflections
How did Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech play in Pravda? An inside account of Stalin's harsh and calculated response.

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Spotlight Spotlight
A change of borders following World War II forces millions from their homes. Was it justified retribution, ethnic cleansing or both?

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Then and now Then and now
Once the most antagonistic of foes, Russia and the United States have forged a pragmatic alliance in the post Cold War years. CNN's Ralph Begleiter reports.

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Magazine covers first draft TIME: Russia: Historic Force, February 2, 1945
PRAVDA: Stalin's "Iron Curtain" Response, May 14, 1946
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Did you know
  On the train ride to Fulton, Missouri, for his "Iron Curtain" speech, Winston Churchill told President Truman that if he were born again he would want to live in the United States -- despite some of its deplorable customs. Asked which customs he deplored, Churchill said: "You stop drinking with your meals."
-- From "Truman," by David McCullough

  
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360° Interactive Image
Cold War Military Museum
See the weaponry that helped the Soviet bloc maintain an Iron Curtain
Newsreel Flashback
Churchill's Defeat
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maps
Postwar Europe
The Iron Curtain descends
Decision game
It's 1947. Should the U.S. take on the fight against communism in Greece and Turkey?
interviews Clark Cliffordvideo icon
Aide to President Truman
Vladimir Yerofeyev
Soviet Foreign Ministry
George Elsey
Aide to President Truman
documents
Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech
March 5, 1946
George Kennan's "Long Telegram"
February 1946
The Novikov Telegram
September 1946
Postscript
The showdown over Mideast oil
Message Boards
Share your thoughts and memories about the era depicted in 'Iron Curtain'
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Episode 3: Marshall Plan