Iron Curtain: The Phrase Defining Post-WWII Europe's Division

The phrase 'Iron Curtain' referred to the division of Europe between capitalist and communist states during the Cold War following World War II. Coined by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in a 1946 speech, the term symbolized the political, military, and ideological isolation and opposition between the Soviet Union and its satellite states and the Western capitalist nations. The 'Iron Curtain' separated communist Eastern Europe from capitalist Western Europe, restricting the flow of information and people between the two blocs.