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The Western Bloc, also known as the Capitalist Bloc, is an informal, collective term for countries that were officially allied with the United States during the Cold War of 1947–1991.
The Cold War was a period of global geopolitical tension and struggle for ideological dominance and economic influence between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc, that started in 1947, two years after the end of World War II, and lasted until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
They were also referred to as the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The circumstances of these two blocs were so different that they were essentially two worlds, however, they were not numbered first and second. [2] [3] [4] The onset of the Cold War is marked by Winston Churchill's famous "Iron Curtain" speech. [5]
The Eastern Bloc was often called the "Second World", whereas the term "First World" referred to the Western Bloc and "Third World" referred to the non-aligned countries that were mainly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America but notably also included former pre-1948 Soviet ally Yugoslavia, which was located in Europe.
Cold War – period of political and military tension that occurred after World War II between powers in the Western Bloc (the United States, its NATO allies and others) and powers in the Eastern Bloc (the Soviet Union and its allies in the Warsaw Pact). Historians have not fully agreed on the dates, but 1947–1991 is common.
As part of the Western Bloc West Germany was a member of NATO and an important part of the alliance. Especially so since any conflict with the Soviet Union was most likely going to start in West Germany itself or on its border with East Germany .
This is an incomplete list of Western Bloc intelligence agents, military personnel, scientists, politicians, diplomats, and other prominent people who defected to the Eastern Bloc or non-aligned countries during the Cold War and after.
During the Cold War, the western portion of Germany and the associated territory of West Berlin were parts of the Western Bloc. West Germany was formed as a political entity during the Allied occupation of Germany after World War II , established from 12 states formed in the three Allied zones of occupation held by the United States, the United ...