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After World War II, the long period of intense rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States.
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1964 Speech delivered by Winston Churchill at Fulton, Missouri where he said "An iron Curtain has descended across Europe", the curtain refereeing to communism.
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Stalin blocked off the supply lines, cutting of the 2 MILLION strong population of West Germany from Western help. He believed it would force allies out of Berlin and make it dependent on USSR
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Organization formed in 1949 as a military alliance of western European and North American states against the Soviet Union and its east European allies. (See also Warsaw Pact.)
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the cold war conflict in which UN soliders fought to defend South Korea from takeover by Communist North Korea, ending a stalemate in 1953
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treaty signed in 1945 that formed an alliance of the Eastern European countries behind the Iron Curtain; USSR, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania
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Stalin was taking over Eastern Europe by salami tactics and Czechoslovakia had just turned Communist (March 1948). On the other side, the USA had just adopted the Truman Doctrine to 'contain' the USSR.
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A wall constructed between East and West Berlin with guards who fired on any who tried to escape from East Berlin to West Berlin.
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Major Cold War confrontation in 1962 --> Soviets building missile bases on Cuba, atomic missiles could reach US within minutes.
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As soon as democratic elections were announced in Hungary there was a mass movement of East German citizens through Hungary to West Germany
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Growing protests against repression,increased concern about the limits of the Soviet Economic system. Concerns over could it keep up with the west? Weather it could provide military capacity in a technological age with a high standard of living. People began to question the government line. Endless amount of bureaucracy was wasteful. Cut off from the global economy, out of date. Removed from the global economy, out-of-date. Gap in inefficiency grew.
