Iron Curtain: Life Under Soviet Occupation

TV Show · Documentary · History

In the wake of WWII, Eastern Europe came under Soviet domination, as millions lived in the shadow of the Iron Curtain. Through intimate testimonies from Hungary, Poland, and East Germany, alongside rare archives, director Tania Rakhmanova-who grew up in the USSR-traces the forced sovietization of the region from 1944 to the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961.

2024 · 55m

Director Tania Rakhmanova

EPISODE 1

In the Grip of Moscow

1944-45. As the Red Army pushes toward Berlin, Stalin seizes Eastern Europe, exploiting postwar chaos to impose communist regimes. Industries are requisitioned, propaganda expands, and dissent crushed through arrests. Marxism-Leninism becomes the only creed. By the late 1940s, the Iron Curtain has fallen, sealing millions under Soviet rule.

52m
EPISODE 2

The Reign of Stalin

By Stalin's 70th birthday in 1949, Soviet domination of Eastern Europe is complete. Cities bear his name, collectivization uproots families, the Church is persecuted, and youth indoctrinated. Jews face new purges, culminating in Prague's show trials. With fear gripping 80 million people, Stalin's death in 1953 finally sparks a wave of hope for change.

51m
EPISODE 3

The Time of Revolts

Stalin's death in 1953 unleashes revolt: Berlin workers strike, Hungary rises in 1956, and Khrushchev's denunciation stirs hope. But Soviet tanks crush uprisings, leaving repression harsher than ever. People live double lives-outwardly loyal, privately critical. In 1961, the Berlin Wall seals the Iron Curtain, trapping Eastern Europe in Moscow's grip.

50m

Tania Rakhmanova

Director