Final answer:
Churchill described Postwar Europe as divided by an 'iron curtain,' signifying the ideological conflict between democracy and totalitarianism. He was concerned with Communist parties gaining disproportionate power in Eastern Europe. Allies planned for reconstruction and independence, despite the stark reality of a divided Germany.
Step-by-step explanation:
Winston Churchill described Postwar Europe as being sharply divided by an “iron curtain”, a term he popularized in his speech on March 5, 1946. This division was characterized by the ideological struggle between democracy and totalitarianism, separating the democratic nations of Western Europe from the Communist-dominated Eastern Europe. In his speech, Churchill expressed his concerns about the Communist parties gaining power far beyond their numbers in Eastern European nations, which he did not see as part of the liberated Europe they fought to build or as conducive to permanent peace.
Despite this bleak description, there was also an intent for reconstruction and genuine independence in Postwar Europe as evidenced by meetings held among international leaders. Plans were laid for economic stability and peace, exemplified by the establishment of institutions at the Bretton Woods Conference and the United Nations. However, the division of Germany into the Bundesrepublik Deutschland and the Deutsche Demokratische Republik, representing respectively the democratic West and the communist East, illustrated the deep divisions that Churchill alluded to in his address.