origins of the cold war -> developing tensions up to 1948 - Iron Curtain Speech

Question 1

who made the Iron Curtain speech and what was he known for?

Answer 1

• Winston Churchill
• not Prime Minister at the time but still largely influential
• he was in favour for a ‘special relationship’ with the USA
• he openly articulated the ideological and metaphorical division of Europe

Question 2

when and where was the Iron Curtain speech made ?

Answer 2

5 March 1946 in Fulton, Missouri

Question 3

What main points were made during the Iron Curtain speech?

Answer 3

• Europe had been divided into communist and non-communist sides
• Communist countries were being controlled and influenced by USSR
• USSR wants to expand their power and ideologies through a Soviet sphere

Question 4

Which quote explains that Europe has been divided?

Answer 4

‘From Stettin in the Baltic to Triest in the Adriatic, an Iron Curtain has descended across the Continent.’

Question 5

How did Stalin respond to the Iron Curtain speech?

Answer 5

• In interview published by Pravda (official newspaper for Communist Party of USSR) in March 1946 Stalin stated:
• Churchill is ‘trying to push into oblivion the sacrifices of the Soviet people’ during WWII

Question 6

what was the significance of the Soviet response?

Answer 6

• Stalin’s response presented a benign Soviet Union peacefully seeking Eastern European allies to reinforce the USSR’s security
• by October 1946, the USSR had developed a robust analysis of the state of international relations to act as further justification for Soviet policy in Eastern Europe

Question 7

what did the Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov do?

Answer 7

• Foreign Minister, Vyacheslav Molotov accused the USA of being an imperialistic power and effectively abandoned the Declaration on Librated Europe agreed at Yalta