The Rise, Cracks and Fall of the Iron Curtain Quiz

Answer: Winston Churchill

The term "Iron Curtain" is attributed to Winston Churchill for usage in his "Sinews of Peace" speech, which was delivered at Westminster College in the US. Churchill had used the term privately in communications with other leaders before that speech.

However, the term Iron Curtain had been used for over a century, originally referring to fireproof curtains in theaters. After the Russian Revolution, some writers used Iron Curtain as a metaphor for the boundaries of Russia itself.

At the end of World War II the Russian army occupied most of the European nations, ostensibly to provide a buffer region for the future. The Eastern bloc nations became client states of Russia, following its lead politically and economically. Russia attempted to expand its control to other nations by aiding Communist rebellions in Greece and Turkey and supporting strong Communist parties in Italy and France.

Equilibrium was reached when rebel forces were defeated, and the success of the Marshall plan and revelation of Stalin's atrocities weakened the appeal of Russian Communism in western Europe.

Answer: Czechoslovakia

In the concluding days of World War II, American troops halted 50 miles from Prague, allowing the Soviet army to advance from further away and liberate the city. The various Allied wartime conferences had placed Czechoslovakia in a non-aligned status. However, allowing the Soviets to liberate the country and continued indifference of the American government gave Russia more influence within the country.

The first elections led to a coalition government with the Communists being the largest political party. They controlled the interior department and began to replace police chiefs with loyalists, causing other ministers to resign. Pressure mounted on the President Edvard Benes when non-Communists were beaten and the Czech army supported the coup. He accepted the resignations, allowing total control to the Communist party.

A Communist-led Government was formed, although the nonaligned official Jan Masaryk was allowed to remain as foreign minister. As the son of Thomas Masaryk, president of the new nation of Czechoslovakia formed after World War I, he was still a face of the new nation. About a month later his body was found below his third story office. The Government claimed his death was a suicide, but most neutral authorities believe it was murder by defenestration.

Hungary also had a democratic government after the war before the Communist party gained total control.

Answer: Greece

The Greek Civil War (1946-1949) was an extension of the battle for eventual control of the country between rival partisan factions. When German forces captured Greece in 1941, King George II fled and a Government in Exile was established. Inside the country by 1943 partisan forces of the Communist forces of ELAM and the rival EDES controlled much of rural areas of Greece, leaving the Axis forces in control of only major cities. In the latter stages of the war German forces withdrew when advances by the Soviet army threatened to encircle them.

The Greek Government returned with the support of the British army, and the Treaty of Varkisa was signed with the partisan groups, which demobilized paramilitary forces.

However in 1946 an anti-government rebellion resumed, supported by Yugoslavia and Albania. Britain supported Government operations against the guerilla warfare, and eventually the United States supplied additional money and weapons. The Communist forces were dangerously close to victory when a bitter split between Tito of Yugoslavia and Stalin weakened their forces and supplies, leading to their eventual defeat.

Answer: The Berlin airport used in the Berlin Airlift

Tempelhof is the name of the Berlin airport which was used by American aircraft to supply West Berlin with food, coal, and other material during the Berlin Blockade. The British RAF planes used Gatow Airport within their section of the city during the airlift.

West Berlin was an isolated city within East Germany after the end of World War II. The Soviets allowed goods to be transported to the city for three years before closing roads and waterways to the city in 1948 in an attempt to force the British, French, and American sections to be abandoned. Western military forces had been reduced at the war's conclusion and were at an overwhelming manpower disadvantage if war broke out. The Allies instituted a counter-blockade that limited the flow of material, especially steel, to East Germany with a devastating effect on its economy.

The British and Americans decided to supply West Berlin using air corridors which the Soviets kept open. The initial estimate of 5,000 tons of necessary supplies per day were difficult to meet due to a limited number of available aircraft and few runways at the airports. Only 90 tons per day were delivered during the first week, increasing to 1000 tons per day shortly thereafter, Eventually more transport planes became available, runways were expanded, and a new French field was built at Lake Tefel.

Planes flew at four minutes intervals, stacked at different altitudes in what was termed a ladder. Instrument flight was dictated for all flights, planes had to return on missed landing, and flight crews remained on the aircraft to expedite quick returns and no delays for incoming flights.

As the blockade extended into winter months, the required daily supplies increased. At one critical juncture West Berlin was reduced to one week of coal supplies due to an extended stretch of fog and bad weather. However, by April of 1949 the aircraft were supplying more tonnage than railroads had done before the blockade with the record one-day supply being nearly 9,000 tons.

The success of the Western airlift and the devastating effect of the Western embargo on all Iron Curtain countries forced Stalin to lift the blockade in May 1949. The Allies delivered nearly 2.4 million tone of supplies, requiring nearly 300,000 flights. At the peak of the airlift planes were arriving every 30 seconds. The airlift had come at the cost of 101 lives.

The Blockade and Communist coup in Czechoslovakia convinced Western powers to strengthen West Berlin against possible expansion of the Iron Curtain.

The Berlin Blockade turned out to be one of the first skirmishes of the Cold War and saw the flight of many East Germans across the border into West Berlin.

Answer: Yugoslavia

The Axis powers invaded Yugoslavia in April 1941. Yugoslav Partisan, a Communist-sponsored group led by Josip Broz (Marshal Tito), and the Chetniks, a royalist group supported by the Western allies, battled the German occupation forces. The Partisans were more successfully and liberated parts of the country by 1944 with limited supported from the Soviet Union. Russian troops withdrew shortly after the final victory of the rebel forces.

The postwar Government of Yugoslavia was led by local Communists without a Soviet presence in the country. The rift between Russian and Yugoslavian governments became more pronounced when Stalin refused to support Tito's attempts to control Albania and Greece. Yugoslavia remained a Communist nation under Tito, although it accepted Western financial aid.

When the Warsaw Pact was signed in 1945 to counterbalance NATO, Yugoslavia was the only Curtain nation which was not present at the meetings. When Tito died in 1980, pressures between the various ethnic groups increased - a harbinger of the eventual breakup of the nation in the future.

Answer: East Germany

The worst Iron Curtain automobile was the Trabant, produced by East Germany, whose poor quality compared unfavorably to the West Germany's Volkswagen, Porsche, and BMW automobiles. Over three million Trabants were produced over its thirty year life, with little change to its design over that time. On average it required about ten years to acquire one after being placed on a waiting list.

The Trabant was loud, slow, and offered an uncomfortable ride. taking over 20 seconds to reach its top speed of 62 miles per hour from a starting position. It also produced a smoky exhaust, in part because it required oil to be added to the fuel. Early models had lacked fuel gauges, turn signal indicators, tachometers, rear seat belts, and external fuel doors.

The loss of people and their expertise, along with devastation of industries and cities, created significant difficulties in rebuilding Europe after World War II. The Marshall Plan aided the reconstruction of Western Europe, but the Eastern bloc of nations refused to join by the direction of Stalin.

The Soviet Union controlled the economies of Eastern bloc nations, making them dependent on Russian raw materials and directing products and assets back to Russia. The emphasis on large-scale industries caused a serious neglect of consumer products and shoddy merchandise. Probably the two most symbolic failures of the Eastern economies were the industrial apartment buildings and the poorly-engineered automobiles.

Following the reunification of Germany, production of the Trabants terminated due to its inefficient production and failure to meet emission standards.

Answer: Albania

Albania isolated itself from most other nations in the postwar period, eventually shifting its allegiance from Russia to China.

Italy had coveted control of neighboring Albania and conquered it during World War II. When the Italian Government collapsed, German forces occupied the country. Rebels, under the leadership of Enver Hoxha, successfully ousted the Germans as the war ended, and Hoxha led a repressive Communist government.

Albania had perhaps the least amount of freedom in the non-Russian Iron Country countries, with severe punishment for dissent, intolerance towards religions, a ban on private ownership of land, and restriction for most travel. It isolated itself from other Iron Curtain countries due to policy differences that ultimately led to its withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact.

Albania developed a close relation with China at this time, in part due to their comparable repressive brands of Communism. It sided with China during the Sino-Soviet conflicts in the late 1960s, furthering its separation. Ultimately the Albania-China relationship also deteriorated, and Albania returned to its isolated state.

Answer: Romania

The Iron Curtain countries emphasized excellence in sports, establishing national training centers and in some cases providing performance-enhancing drugs to their athletes. Russia took great pride in hosting the 1980 Summer Olympics, especially to showcase its excellence and beauty. Unfortunately, Western nations, led by the United States, decided to boycott the 1980 Moscow Games due to the Russian invasion of Afghanistan.

In 1984 Russia led the Iron Curtain countries in a boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Romania was the only Iron Curtain country to break with Russia. Undoubtedly the past success of Romanian athletes. especially Nadia Comaneci and the women's gymnastic team, and the desire to showcase them and their country was an important factor in the decision.

However, the deteriorating political relationship between Russia and Romania played a part. President Ceausescu had banned the use of his country for Warsaw Pact nations invading Czechoslovakia, had visited the US several times and hosted President Nixon, had instituted a number of trade agreements with the West, and purchased Western military technology.

The Romanian athletes were extremely popular at the Olympics and had a very successful performance in Los Angeles, finishing behind only the US in gold medals with 20.

Answer: Hungary

One month after the Hungarian Revolution was crushed by Russia, the two nations met in a semifinal water polo match at the Melbourne Olympics with Hungary winning by a score of 4-0. The Hungarian team was the defending Olympic champion and its members had been moved out of the country before the start of the Russian invasion, and they had only learned of the full extent of the events after reaching Australia.

The match was violent throughout with Hungarians taunting their opponents, a drawback of teaching the Hungarian people Russian as a second language. In the closing minute of the game,a Russian player punched Hungarian star Ervin Zador, causing a large gash that sent the crowd into an angry frenzy.

Zador and several teammates defected to the West after winning the gold medal, and he later coached legendary American swimmer Mark Spitz.

Although it's tempting to consider the Iron Curtain countries as united with Russia, within the first 10 or so years signs of serious discontent had shown. The most prominent was the Hungarian Revolution in 1956, but Soviet intervention was needed to quell worker strikes in East Germany in 1953 and Poland in 1956.

The bloody battle in an Olympic water polo match between Russia and Hungary was an outgrowth of the Hungarian Revolution. Hungary had been forced into the Iron Curtain after a short period as a postwar democracy, and declining economics and a repressive government had triggered an attempt to remove Russian control.

After World War II Hungary was governed by a democratic coalition Government with Communists receiving only 17 percent of the votes. However, they controlled the state security and were able to wrest control of power by the 1949 elections. A period of repression followed, highlighted by the show trial of Cardinal Jozsef Mindszenty. The economy declined in this period, leading to high inflation and rationing.

Concession granted to Poland after a short uprising by workers encouraged students to protest for more freedom in Hungary. When students made demands for changes, the state police tried to suppress the large crowds. The Soviet Union sent tanks into Budapest shortly thereafter, but full-scale rioting had started. The Revolution spread from Budapest throughout the country, and the new Government was established. Shortly thereafter the Hungarians met with the Soviet delegation to establish peace, but they were arrested and eventually executed.Fearing that the revolution would spread to other Iron Curtain countries, the Soviets suppressed the revolution.

Answer: Czechoslovakia

In January 1968 liberal reformer Alexander Dubcek was elected leader of Czechoslovakia, and he instituted a series of reforms during an eight-month period known as the Prague Spring. His reforms included decentralizing the economic planning, allowing more personal freedoms, and splitting Slovakia from the Czech Republic.

Talks between the Czech Government and Soviet leaders failed to reach an agreement satisfactory to the Russians. In August Russian forces, aided by Warsaw pact members from Poland, Hungary, and Bulgaria, invaded the country.

Showing fission within the Iron Curtain, Romania and Albania refused to contribute troops for the invasion. Surprisingly China condemned the action, as part of its growing split with Russia. The invasion further disillusioned Western European Communists. The seeds of the future Velvet Revolution in 1982 were planted during this temporary burst of freedom in the Prague Spring.

Answer: Gdansk

Solidarity was the first trade union certified in a Warsaw Pact country. It was founded at the Lenin Shipyards in Gdansk, Poland. After being certified in 1980 it led resistance to authoritarian rule, advancing worker's rights and advocating for social change.

In the late 1970s the Polish economy had stagnated and suffered from rising prices and shortages. By 1980 other Polish trade unions had merged with the shipyard workers to form a more powerful Solidarity Union. Attempts to destroy the union by repression and martial law failed as Solidarity received support from the Catholic Church and Pope John Paul II, Polish nationalists, and universities.

By 1989, the union negotiated with the Polish Government to conduct free elections, which resulted in a victory by a Solidarity-led coalition under Lech Walesa. In 1999 Poland was admitted as a member of NATO.

Answer: Romania

Nicolae Ceausescu, the President of Romania, was viewed favorably by many people in the West for his independence from Russian control. He had defied the Russian boycott of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and had refused to send troops to aid in suppressing the Czechoslovakian Revolution.

However, within Romania he had become very unpopular due to his repressive rule and economic mismanagement. The Romanian secret police conducted mass surveillance, human rights violation were common, and the media was placed under state control. Growing national debt caused much of the country's agricultural and industrial production to be directed overseas.

A series of worker strikes in 1987 over economic conditions were halted with protestors being beaten and tortured. In 1989 when other Iron Curtain countries became free from Russian domination, Romania remained the last hard line Communist nation. Ceausescu attempted to remain in power, and the police killed several demonstrators in the smaller city of Timisoara.

Citizens were made aware of the the protest and killings by broadcasts from Western news outlets, leading to wider protests in Bucharest and other major cities. Ceausescu attempted to calm the crowd, but failed and escaped on a helicopter after the army refused to back him. Eventually he was captured and convicted in a show trial on Christmas day 1989. He and his wife Elena were executed later that day.

Answer: Baltic states of the USSR

The Baltic Chain or Chain of Freedom was an almost continuous line of people holding hands that stretched 430 miles (690 kilometers) from Vilnius to Tallinn. Some estimates state that about 25 percent of the population of the Baltic states participated in the line, which culminated in a fifteen minute ceremony of joining hands.

The citizens of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia had established an underground protest known as "Black Ribbon Day". Black ribbons were worn every August 23rd in remembrance of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which placed Poland, Finland, Romania, and the Baltic states under German or Russian control. The Baltic Chain occurred on the 50th anniversary of this agreement.

Russia made minor concessions to the Baltic republics after the protest, but did not quash dissent. By 1991 Lithuania declared its independence, leading to other Russian republics to follow and bringing about the eventual dissolution of the USSR into fifteen separate nations.

Answer: Hungary

By late summer of 1989 the Iron Curtain was in serious disarray with several countries breaking ties with Russia. The Pan-European Picnic was a peace conference to be held in Austria near its border with Hungary. Hungary was no longer willing to close its border nor control crossings.

Karl von Habsburg, the last Crown Prince of the Austria-Hungary and claimant to its throne, distributed leaflets to East Germans, who were visiting Hungary. Many East Germans joined the picnic and decided to stay to enter West Germany. Czechoslovakia then opened its borders, allowing more East Germans to escape to the West. A further flood of refugees were allowed to pass the Berlin Wall and parts of the wall were destroyed.

Answer: Atop a tank by the Russian government building

Two of the most memorable pictures of the final days of the Iron Curtain were the tearing down of the Berlin Wall and Boris Yeltsin standing atop a tank in front of the Russian Parliament building to battle an attempted coup by hard line Russian Communists.

This occurred when Yeltsin was President of the Russian Republic and Mikhail Gorbachev was President of the USSR. The two had become bitter rivals over the years since Yeltsin pushed for quicker reforms and more democracy within Russia. Gorbachev had demoted him within the Communist party in an attempt to thwart a rival and led a smear campaign, against him. This only increased Yeltsin's popularity and contributed to his election as President of the Russian Republic over a candidate favored by Gorbachev.

In 1991 the Iron Curtain countries were breaking with Russia and republics within the USSR were declaring their independence with little resistance from Gorbachev. Hardliners led an attempted coup and held Gorbachev prisoner in Crimea. Yeltsin raced to the Government building and defied the attempted coup with an impassioned speech atop a tank. Troops sent to the area defected to the side of the demonstrators, effectively ending the coup.

Although Gorbachev returned to power in Moscow, Yeltsin effectively gained control of the Government and Gorbachev resigned after agreeing to the dissolution of the USSR into independent nations.