The safety of the world requires a unity in Europe, from which no nation should be permanently outcast. 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. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. It is my duty, however, to place before you certain facts about the present position in Europe.įrom Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. There is deep sympathy and goodwill in Britain-and I doubt not here also-toward the peoples of all the Russias and a resolve to persevere through many differences and rebuffs in establishing lasting friendships. I have a strong admiration and regard for the valiant Russian people and for my wartime comrade, Marshal Stalin.
We must, and I believe we shall, prove ourselves equal to this severe requirement. It is necessary that constancy of mind, persistency of purpose, and the grand simplicity of decision shall rule and guide the conduct of the English-speaking peoples in peace as they did in war. To reject it or ignore it or fritter it away will bring upon us all the long reproaches of the aftertime. Opportunity is here now, clear and shining, for both our countries. As 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. For with this primacy in power is also joined an awe-inspiring accountability to the future. It is a solemn moment for the American democracy. The United States stands at this time at the pinnacle of world power. Truman, it was this speech that popularized the notion of a very real Iron Curtain descending upon Europe. Although Churchill had used the phrase iron curtain in telegrams to President Harry S.
On March 5, 1946, Winston Churchill delivered his “Sinews of Peace” speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. Churchill, Excerpts from the “Iron Curtain Speech,” March 5, 1946
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