The Cold War The Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall using primary sources (audio speech, video speech, maps and diary accounts)

After World War II Even though USSR (Russia) fought with the other Allies (Great Britain, France and the US), they did not agree on how governments should govern their respective peoples. When Germany surrendered all four of the major Allies had troops in Germany. After WWII it was agreed that each of the Allies take a section of Germany. The US, France and Great Britain agreed to join their sections together to form West Germany. Russia kept their section and named it East Germany. Please note where Berlin is located.

The Soviet Ruled Countries All became a part of the Warsaw Pact after WWII.

Becoming the Iron Curtain Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of Great Britain was a powerful leader of his country and an excellent speaker. In a speech after it was apparent that Russia would control the Eastern European countries, he claimed the Soviets had used an “Iron Curtain” down to separate themselves from the rest of Europe. Click on picture to listen and read Churchill’s speech. Click launch, highlights then Iron Curtain. In the bottom left window pane summarize what you heard and read.

The Cold War Continues… By the early 1960s, the tensions were still high between the West and the East. Since Berlin, physically located in East Germany, was split into East Berlin and West Berlin people in East Berlin wanted to be a part of West Berlin. Khrushchev, the leader of the USSR, had a wall built to keep the East Berliners from leaving the country. Click on the picture, then click play to see a video of President Kennedy talking about the Berlin Wall.

Demanding the Wall to Come Down By the late 1980s, over 40 years after the Cold War began, President Reagan demanded The Wall be torn down. Click on the picture to hear President Reagan’s speech at Brandenburg Gate, A checkpoint station in the Berlin Wall.

The Wall Comes Down… After over 40 years of the “Cold War” and over 25 years of the Berlin Wall dividing a city, the WALL comes down. Click on the picture to read about the Wall Coming down. Read the stories of the people that witnessed this historic event.