The origins of the Cold War Up to 1945 the most dominant countries were European, Britain, France and Germany, by the end of the war however this was very different. The retreating German army had destroyed whole areas of towns and industries, and allied bombing had left most of Germany in ruins. The two new superpowers were the USA and the USSR. The USSR was the biggest country and had the biggest army. It was though …showed first 75 words of 1149 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1149 total…keep a Communist government out of the control of Stalin. In May 1945 Churchill used the famous phrase “Iron Curtain” to describe what was happening in Germany. More famously was his speech at Fulton, Missouri, where he warned people about Communism in 1946. “An iron curtain has descended. Behind that line lie all the states Central and Eastern Europe. This is not the liberated Europe we fought to build. Nor is it one which allows permanent peace.”