Why Was the Relationship Between Western and Eastern Europe so Hostile Between 1946 and 1961?

Between 1946 and 1961, the relationship between western and eastern Europe deteriorated significantly in the context of the Cold War. Three major events will be discussed: Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech, the Berlin Blockade, and the Berlin Wall.
<Tab/>Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech in 1946, calling for an alliance between English-speaking countries, seemed to predetermine a worsening European situation. By 1945, the USSR already controlled Albania and Bulgaria; in the following four years five more countries would fall under Soviet rule, the majority through Salami tactics: forming coalitions and then taking over the government by presenting charges against them. …