On 16 June 1947, British cartoonist Leslie Gilbert Illingworth illustrates the threat represented by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, who is methodically trying to extend his area of influence in Central Europe to include the countries of Western Europe.

In March 1948, British cartoonist David Low illustrates the Communist threat facing the whole of Europe and deplores Moscow’s stranglehold on a number of countries including Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria. From left to right, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and his Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov.

Am 13. März 1948 hält der belgische Premierminister und Außenminister Paul-Henri Spaak in Luxemburg einen Vortrag, in dem er das Wesen und die Gefahren der sowjetischen Außenpolitik erläutert.

Vor den österreichischen Parlamentswahlen am 9. Oktober 1949 warnt die Österreichische Volkspartei (ÖVP) die Wähler des Landes vor der Bedrohung durch die „kommunistischen Tentakel“.

‘The stepfather: I already have enough children, but I like you so much that I’d like to adopt you.’ On 1 April 1950, the German daily newspaper Der Mittag illustrates the Soviets’ desire to take over West Berlin and extend their zone of influence in Central Europe.

On 12 October 1951, the Russian daily newspaper Izvestia emphasises the positive action taken by the Soviet peoples and their leader, Joseph Stalin, to uphold peace in the world, and emphasises the determination of the Socialist States and the USSR to adhere to the commitments made in the Stockholm Appeal.

‘Joseph the insatiable’. In June 1952, in the Luxembourg Socialist daily newspaper Tageblatt, the cartoonist Simon portrays the downside of Soviet economic planning.

In December 1952, Paolo Emilio Taviani, Junior Minister in the Italian Foreign Ministry, criticises the political aims of the Moscow leadership and describes European unification as a bulwark against the Communist threat.

At the beginning of the Cold War, the ‘Molotov Plan — the definitive solution to all the world’s problems’ predicts that the world will evolve according to Communist and Soviet principles. Molotov was Soviet Foreign Minister from 1939 to 1949 and from 1953 to 1956.

On 17 September 1946, Alexander Werth, correspondent for the British weekly newspaper The Sunday Times, asks Soviet General Joseph Stalin a series of questions on the international situation and the threat of a new war.

Am 29. August 1949 testet die Sowjetunion auf dem Atomwaffentestgelände von Semipalatinsk in Kasachstan ihre erste Atombombe mit einer Leistung von 22 Kilotonnen.

Am 25. September 1949 stellt die französische Tageszeitung Le Monde fest, was die Tatsache, dass die Sowjetunion über atomare Waffen verfügt, für den Westen bedeutet, und spricht die Kontrolle von Massenvernichtungswaffen an.

On 4 October 1949, the Italian daily newspaper Il nuovo Corriere della Sera considers the implications for the West of the Soviet Union’s acquisition of nuclear weapons and raises the spectre of possible nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union.

„He! he! holt doch die unnützen Stangen da weg und tragt sie nach vorn! Wir müssen eine gemeinsame Barrikade errichten …!“ Im April 1950 ruft der deutsche Karikaturist Stig die europäischen Länder zur Einheit gegen die sowjetische Bedrohung auf.

‘The angel of peace seeks a new battlefield — Joseph, the angel of peace: And now whose turn is it to be liberated?’ In September 1951, in the Socialist daily newspaper Tageblatt, the Luxembourg cartoonist Simon criticises the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin’s international policy.

On 6 October 1951, Joseph Stalin gives an interview to Pravda in which he responds to US criticism of the Soviet Union’s nuclear policy.

‘Jo-Jo The Dove’. In 1951, the French anti-Communist movement Paix et Liberté (Peace and Liberty) publishes a poster condemning the true politico-military designs of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and placing particular emphasis on the figure’s bellicose nature.

In the midst of the Cold War, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) draws up a report on the development of the Soviet armed forces between 1947 and 1954 and highlights the threat of these forces to Western Europe.

Am 26. Februar 1948 lässt die französische Tageszeitung Le Monde die Ereignisse Revue passieren, die am 25. Februar in Prag unter dem Druck von Klement Gottwald mit Unterstützung der Sowjetunion zur Demission von Präsident Benesch geführt haben.

Am 26. Februar 1948 berichtet die luxemburgische Tageszeitung Luxemburger Wort über die Ereignisse des „Prager Staatsstreichs“, der den tschechoslowakischen Kommunisten die Mehrheit in der Regierung Klement Gottwalds sichert, und zwar auf Kosten der Demokraten unter der Führung von Jan Masaryks.

On 26 February 1948, drawing lessons from the ‘Prague coup’ which placed the Czechoslovak communists at the head of Klement Gottwald’s government to the detriment of the democrats led by Jan Masaryk, the Italian daily newspaper Il nuovo Corriere della Sera deplores Moscow’s stranglehold on the country and recalls the recent efforts for democratisation and openness in Czechoslovakia.

Am 27. Februar 1948 befasst sich die luxemburgische Tageszeitung Luxemburger Wort mit den von der neuen Regierung Klement Gottwalds zur Stabilisierung der kommunistischen Macht in der Tschechoslowakei durchgeführten Säuberungs-Aktionen.

Am 28. Februar 1948 analysiert die deutsche Tageszeitung Süddeutsche Zeitung die Folgen des „Prager Staatsstreichs“, der in der Tschechoslowakei in die Etablierung einer kommunistischen Regierung unter der Führung von Klement Gottwald mündet.

In his memoirs, Georges Bidault, former French Foreign Minister, is concerned at the consequences of the ‘Prague coup’, which led to the Czech Communists seizing power from the democrats led by Jan Masaryk, and emphasises the threat that the USSR represents for Western Europe.

In February 1948, crowds demonstrate in the streets of Prague against the ‘Prague Coup’, during which the Communists, led by Klement Gottwald, sidelined the other political parties in the democratically elected Parliament and became the dominant power.

On 11 March 1948, the British daily newspaper Daily Mail leads with the consequences of the ‘Prague coup’, which led to the establishment of a Communist government in Czechoslovakia led by Klement Gottwald, and speculates on the death in suspicious circumstances of the Czech Foreign Minister, Jan Masaryk, the previous day.

Die Karte zeigt den immer stärker werdenden Einfluss der Sowjetunion in den Staaten Mittel- und Osteuropas.

On 25 September 1945, British cartoonist David Low illustrates the concern of the Western powers at the fate reserved by the Soviet Union for the countries of Eastern Europe, and particularly criticises the bringing to heel of these countries by Moscow. From left to right: James Byrnes, US Secretary of State, Ernest Bevin, British Foreign Secretary, and Molotov, Soviet Foreign Minister.

Am 6. Juni 1947 berichtet die luxemburgische Tageszeitung Luxemburger Wort über die Ereignisse, die in Ungarn zur Ablösung der demokratischen Regierung von Ministerpräsident Imre Nagy durch die kommunistische Regierung Rákosi geführt haben.

On 28 August 1947, the French daily newspaper Le Monde deplores Communist repression in Bulgaria and in other Eastern European countries.

‘Freedom.’ On 2 April 1948, the Luxembourg cartoonist Simon criticises Communist repression in the countries of Eastern Europe.

On 9 February 1949, Dean Acheson, US Secretary of State, makes a statement in which he deplores the ongoing trial of the Hungarian Cardinal, Jozsef Mindszenty, and condemns the totalitarian and police activities of the Communists in Hungary.

In December 1950, Guy Mollet, French Minister of State responsible for relations with the Council of Europe, publishes an article in the journal Notre Europe, in which he sets out his concerns as to the fate that the Soviet Union has in store for European countries behind the Iron Curtain.