Iron Curtain

2. War A period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union (1947–1991).
4. Curtain A symbolic and physical boundary dividing Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe and the West during the Cold War.
5. An economic system based on private ownership and free markets, dominant in Western countries.
7. Pact A military alliance of communist countries in response to NATO, led by the Soviet Union.
9. Bloc Western European countries aligned with the U.S. and NATO, supporting democracy and capitalism.
12. The practice of spying, widely used by both Eastern and Western intelligence agencies during the Cold War.
14. Bloc Eastern European countries aligned with the Soviet Union under communist regimes.
15. A system of ideas and ideals; in this context, the competing beliefs of communism and capitalism.

1. A U.S. policy aimed at preventing the spread of communism beyond its existing borders.
3. A political and economic system where property is owned collectively, often associated with the Soviet bloc.
6. Biased information used by both sides during the Cold War to influence public opinion.
8. The act of separating Eastern and Western Europe ideologically, politically, and physically during the Cold War.
10. Union A socialist state (USSR) led by Russia that dominated Eastern Europe during the Cold War.
11. Wall A concrete barrier built in 1961 that physically and ideologically divided East and West Berlin.
13. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a military alliance of Western nations formed in 1949.