The term Iron Curtain symbolizes the ideological conflict and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1990. The term represents efforts by the Soviet Union to block itself and its dependent and central European allies off from open contact with the West and non-communist regions.
Physically, the Iron Curtain took the form of border defenses between the countries of Europe in the middle of the continent. The most notable border was marked by the Berlin Wall and its Checkpoint Charlie which served as a symbol of the Iron Curtain as a whole.
