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TW: This program contains content that may be disturbing for children, young people and sensitive viewers. While the Red Army was advancing towards Berlin in 1944, Stalin was already planning to incorporate Eastern Europe into his sphere of influence. Within a few years he had imposed the totalitarian Soviet system in the satellite states - by any means necessary. From then on, the Iron Curtain divided the continent into East and West. By 1944, Hitler's Germany's military defeat was already looming: Soviet troops were advancing inexorably towards Berlin. In February 1945, the USA, Great Britain and the USSR agreed in Yalta to install democratic governments in the liberated countries. Stalin retained control of the areas in the East, but established communist regimes there, for example in Hungary, Poland and East Germany. The population, traumatised by the deprivations and cruelties of the war, let it happen: they were busy rebuilding the destroyed cities and ensuring their survival. The USSR took over industry in the satellite states and confiscated coal, wheat and uranium. Marxism-Leninism was declared the only valid worldview in the newly formed Eastern Bloc. Propaganda and repression permeated society, surveillance apparatuses were created: arbitrary arrests and denunciations were the order of the day. The Iron Curtain divided the old continent into East and West for decades. Documentary series, directed by Tania Rakhmanova (F 2022, 52 min) Click here for the second episode (available from October 9th at 3 p.m.): • Stalin's Empire - Europe and the Iron Curtain Click here for the third episode (available from October 10th at 3 p.m.): • Uprisings - Europe and the Iron Curtain #easterneurope #sovietunion #ironcurtain Video available until April 20th, 2025 Link to the media library: https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/111687-... Subscribe to ARTE's YouTube channel: / artede Follow us on social networks: Facebook: / arte.tv Twitter: / artede Instagram: / arte.tv