The Iron Curtain was a boundary that separated the communist Eastern Bloc of Europe from the democratic nations of the West during the Cold War. The term was first used by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in a 1946 speech. Ultimately, Churchill used the term ‘Iron Curtain’ to describe the ideological and physical division of Europe following World War II. The Iron Curtain remained a powerful symbol of Cold War tensions until the fall of communism in Eastern Europe in the late 1980s.
WHAT WAS THE COLD WAR?
The Cold War was a major world event that took place from approximately 1945 until 1990. In general, the Cold War was a period of increased tensions and hostility between the superpowers of the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR). It was characterized by a global struggle between capitalism and communism, with both sides competing for influence around the world. Although it never escalated into direct war between the superpowers, it involved proxy wars, nuclear arms races, and ideological confrontations. The Iron Curtain was a term first used by Winston Churchill to symbolize the division of the world between the ideologies of capitalism and democracy versus communism.
IRON CURTAIN – SUMMARY
Less than a year after the end of World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, delivered a speech that introduced the Cold War era term ‘Iron Curtain’. His March 5th, 1946 speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, was titled the ‘Sinews of Peace’ and was a significant aspect of the early stages of the Cold War. Churchill used the term ‘Iron Curtain’ to describe the line in Europe that divided Western Europe from Eastern Europe. Churchill was referencing a divide that was both symbolic and physical.
The Western European nations were self-governing and based on the western principles of capitalism and democracy, while the Eastern European nations were under Soviet communist control. As such, Churchill used the term ‘Iron Curtain’ to symbolically represent the ideological divide between the differing superpowers at the time. With that said, Churchill also used the term to describe physical barriers that were being established along the border between Soviet-controlled territory in Eastern Europe and the rest of the Western European nations. For instance, Germany was divided following the events of World War II into East Germany and West Germany.
When World War II came to an end in 1945, the Allied powers (USA, Britain and the Soviet Union) held conferences to discuss how Germany should be divided up upon its defeat. The first conference was held at Yalta in February of 1945 and the second was held at Potsdam in July of the same year. The agreements ultimately led to the splitting of the defeated Germany into four Allied occupation zones with portions controlled by the Soviet Union, United States, Britain and France. This is significant because it shows the physical divide that existed for the people living in these regions, which highlights Churchill’s use of the term ‘Iron Curtain’.
IRON CURTAIN – SIGNIFICANCE
The Iron Curtain was significant because it symbolized the deep ideological divide between the communist East and democratic West during the major events of the Cold War. It displayed the recognition by Western leaders of Soviet expansionism in Eastern Europe and beyond. As such, historians view the concept of the ‘Iron Curtain’ as important to the rising tensions between the major superpowers during the Cold War. In fact, Churchill’s speech was viewed differently around the world. Some viewed it as a message from a leader that was trying to warn the world of danger while others viewed it as instigating a conflict with the Soviet Union.
Regardless, he warned of the expansion of Soviet influence in Europe and emphasized the need for unity between the United States and the United Kingdom to maintain peace and freedom. The speech marked a turning point in public awareness of the Cold War and is considered one of the earliest calls for a strong Western alliance against communist expansion. In fact, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was the major Western alliance that emerged from the Cold War, and it was founded just 3 years after Churchill’s speech in 1949.
IRON CURTAIN – EXCERPT FROM CHURCHILL’S SPEECH: ‘SINEWS OF PEACE’
The following is an excerpt from Churchill’s famous speech titled ‘Sinews of Peace’, which he delivered on March 6th, 1946 at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the United States stands at this time at the pinnacle of world power. It is a solemn moment for the American Democracy. For with primacy in power is also joined an awe-inspiring accountability to the future. If you look around you, you must feel not only the sense of duty done but also you must feel anxiety lest you fall below the level of achievement. Opportunity is here and now, clear and shining for both our countries. To reject it or ignore it or fritter it away will bring upon us all the long reproaches of the after-time.
A shadow has fallen upon the scenes so lately light by the Allied victory. Nobody knows what Soviet Russia and its Communist international organization intends to do in the immediate future, or what are the limits, if any, to their expansive and proselytizing tendencies.
I have a strong admiration and regard for the valiant Russian people and for my wartime comrade, Marshall Stalin. There is deep sympathy and goodwill in Britain – and I doubt not here also – towards the peoples of all the Russias and a resolve to persevere through many differences and rebuffs in establishing lasting friendships. We understand the Russian need to be secure on her western frontiers by the removal of all possibility of German aggression. We welcome Russia to her rightful place among the leading nations of the world. We welcome her flag upon the seas. Above all, we welcome, or should welcome, constant, frequent and growing contacts between the Russian people and our own people on both sides of the Atlantic. It is my duty however, for I am sure you would wish me to state the facts as I see them to you. It is my duty to place before you certain facts about the present position in Europe.
From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia, all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and, in some cases, increasing measure of control from Moscow.
The safety of the world, ladies and gentlemen, requires a new unity in Europe, from which no nation should be permanently outcast. It is from the quarrels of the strong parent races in Europe that the world wars we have witnessed, or which occurred in former times, have sprung.“
