The area in Europe after World War II marked by political division was known as the Iron Curtain. This term, popularized by Winston Churchill in 1946, described the ideological and physical barrier separating the Soviet Union and its Eastern Bloc allies from the Western nations, particularly those aligned with NATO. The Iron Curtain metaphorically symbolized the divide between communist and capitalist societies during the Cold War. It was during this period that numerous nations in Eastern Europe fell under Soviet influence, leading to significant geopolitical tension. The division persisted until the early 1990s, culminating in the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and the eventual reunification of Germany.