The Iron Curtain
Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill coined the term "iron curtain" in 1946 at Fulton, Missouri, U.S. in one of the most famous speeches of the Cold War. This speech, "The Sinews of Peace," condemned the Soviet Union's policies in Europe and was considered one of the marks of the beginning of the Cold War. Churchill declared that, "From the Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent." This speech embittered relations between Great Britain and Russia and resulted in mistrust between the two former allies in World War II. The iron curtain was a political, military, and ideological barrier that was created ultimately by the Soviet Union as Stalin tried to create a buffer zone between Russia and the West to prevent future invasion. The iron curtain distinctly divided the continent, and even the world, in two parts -- Communist and anti-Communist. This abrupt division of Europe cut off contact and relations between people and bred animosity.
|
|