The Iron Curtain Speech 1946

Question 1

When was the speech made ?

Answer 1

March 1946 in Fulton Missouri
Churchill famously used the term ‘iron curtain’

Question 2

What did Churchills usage of the term do ?

Answer 2

• It set the standard for referring to Russia and its satellite states
• fostered the idea of an impossible barrier between the west and the USSR

It therefore worsened relations as it encouraged the view the West needed to maintain armaments to defend itself and the negotiations with the USSR would achieve little between dictatorship and democracy

Question 3

Was Churchill the first to use this term ?

Answer 3

No, Sir James Gammell had previously used it

Question 4

How did Stalin and the USSR perceive the speech ?

Answer 4

Reinforced Stalins belief in western hostility despite Churchill being more than willing to; meet him during the war, praise Russian losses and deal with him about Eastern Europe

It’s increased international tension

Question 5

What was the nature of the speech ?

Answer 5

The section ‘settin in the Baltic to Triedte in the Adriatic’ behind which lay Eastern Europe is taken out of context
- the speech referred to Churchills admiration for the valiant Russian people
- it said Stalin did not want war
- it called for a settlement

Question 6

How did the speech not reflect the true situation ?

Answer 6

• Berlin was divided and was run by a joint commission
• Yugoslavia was not totally dominated by the USSR
• no evidence that Stalin was planning future expansion
• there was no acknowledgement that the USSR had concerns over the west

Question 7

Reactions to the speech ?

Answer 7

• It was not a universally held opinion and some US newspapers were critical
• US policy didn’t change
• Truman was unsympathetic to both communism and the USSR as the US was already concerned n over Russian domination of Eastern Europe