!!!Eiserner Vorhang

Iron Curtain (German: Eiserner Vorhang): 1) Political term coined by 
W. Churchill in 1945 to characterise the political and ideological 
dividing line between East and West. It refers to the border 
separating the Soviet sphere of influence against Western Europe by 
means of barbed wire, minefields and watchtowers. The political 
upheaval in central and eastern Europe and the dissolution of the 
Warsaw Pact led to the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989/1990.

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2) In Austria, nickname for the Safety Curtain in a theatre, which 
seals off the stage from the auditorium and descends at the end of the 
performance after the Front Curtain has been lowered. Often equipped 
with additional fire-prevention appliances. After several theatre 
fires in Europe (including at the Vienna  Ringtheater in 1881), the 
Safety Curtain also became obligatory in Austria. The Safety Curtains 
of the Burgtheater and the State Opera, which had been decorated by 
artists, were destroyed during the Second World War. The new Safety 
Curtain of the State Opera was designed (1955) by R. H.  
Eisenmenger, while the curtain at the "Ronacher" Theatre was designed 
by W. Herzig in 1993.


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