In 1946 Winston Churchill gave the “Iron Curtain” speech that explained and clarified the affairs in the world at that time, as well as set goals for the future. It also reassured the people that everything that was necessary at the time was being done by the governments and there should be no fear in expecting another war, as the governments of the world will make sure that it will never occur. It was a post-war speech and so it was much needed for the people to realize that the governments are behind the society, they are prepared to do what is necessary and that together there is a great possibility of building a better world with the absence of pain, conflicts and wars.
The speech itself was very optimistic but at the same time served as a warning. It was optimistic in several ways. First, it was addressing the alliance between the English speaking countries that would optimize the conditions of all the included countries in the post war period. It was reassuring in a way that if such unity is reached together the union of these countries will be much stronger in supporting themselves but also in withstanding any possible enemy. Second, Winston Churchill spoke of a world organization, which would serve as one unit where there would be allied military forces that would mobilize in case of any threat. This way every country would have an army that would be ready to defend itself and the neighboring English speaking nations. The other key point that was touched upon was the Soviet Union and the condition that it was in at the time. It was said that Russia could be considered a threat to the US and the world as the communist regime is very unpredictable and thus should be controlled on all fronts. The speech was given during the time when the world was rebuilding itself from the world war and was guided by the conditions and issues present at that time. It would be very hard to predict what would happen to all the countries involved in the war in the next decade, as there was very little communication between nations, everyone felt threatened by their neighbor. It was a time before the cold war, which was fought under the surface utilizing any means necessary in the interests of national security. It was very hard to judge how the world would turn out and what consequences the world war would bring. Now the world is a much different place and there is no disagreeing that it was very hard to predict the future in those grim and pessimistic times.
One of the important issues that was addressed in the “Iron Curtain” speech was that the world should better its relations and establish firm ground through the United Nations Organization. Mikhail Gorbachev who gave a speech in a response to Winston Churchill’s speech mentioned that the words “Iron Curtain” used in Churchill’s speech, was the first time for those words to appear anywhere. Gorbachev admired Winston Churchill and spoke of him very highly agreeing on most of his ideas. Gorbachev mentioned that it was unfortunate that the relationship between the Soviet Union and the United States has missed the time to establish a relationship based on friendship and trust. This led to a lot of suspicions from both sides, which almost caused another conflict to openly emerge (Gorbachev 1992.) It was due to the absence of information that the United States was under an impression that even though Soviet Union does not want another war but would be interested in what the consequences of that war would bring. It seemed as if the English speaking world was uniting against the rest of the world to strive towards domination, without giving credit to the suffering and hardships that Europe has endured. In another speech Winston Churchill reassured that he greatly respects the Russian people and that he is prepared to work together towards a better future (Gorbachev 1992). These sorts of tensions are understandable at the time, as there was no predicting what would happen next and whose interests would be dominating.
There is no denying that in the “Iron Curtain” speech some of the very important problems of the eastern civilizations were mentioned. Winston Churchill did not exaggerate when he mentioned the affects of the Iron Curtain. As Russia was in a very convenient strategic place geographically, it also had a very strict and unique society that was communist (Connolly 2006). It was striving to build a utopian society by making everyone and everything equal and accessible. This great idea was built on better intentions, but other countries including US could not predict where such aspirations would take people and so there was much suspicion in the world. Another thing that created unnecessary tension was the Berlin Wall that was build with the help of the Soviet Government (Schaefer 2011). This further intensified the tensions in the Cold War, not only on the individual and social levels, but also on the levels of government officials and superpowers themselves (Schaefer 2011). It is obvious that the American government has had reasons to suspect that the Iron Curtain will have great affect on the rest of the world. This can be seen in the way the Soviet Union was governed. The communist countries adopted a new system of rule where there would be a central authority and all the orders and commands would come from there (Moyer 1966). The fact that this system of governing was foreign to others and has spread over such vast territories was concerning and so was greatly addressed in the Iron Curtain speech. The speech itself expressed what was on the mind of almost every American and other English speaking peoples. Winston Churchill brought to light an important issue, but since the speech was made prior to a great number of technological and scientific developments it understated the future of the Soviet Union—now the Russian Federation, which without a doubt is considered to be one of the superpowers in the world with rapid development and bright future (Casey 1985). The “Iron Curtain” speech was a moment in history when the government officials were still in an unknown territory, guessing on what will become of the world, its unity and most importantly its people who will need to be looked after and defended in case of need.
World War II was one of the most horrible moments in human history. It reminded people that the time of peace is a very precious commodity and all the efforts should be directed at a lasting and stable peace. The speeches countries’ governments made were directed to the people, to promise them that it is their duty and responsibility to prevent this from happening again and those who have power in their hands will do everything to guarantee a free world and the absence of war.
References
Casey, William J. “The Growth and Strength of the Soviet Union: Forty Years Since Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech.” Vital Speeches of the Day 50, no. 7 (1985): 194-197.
Connolly, Angela. “Through the Iron Curtain: Analytical Space in Post-Soviet Russia.” Journal of Analytical Psychology 51, no. 2 (2006): 173-189.
Gorbachev, Mikhail S. “The River of Time.” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 48, no. 6 (1992): 22-27.
Moyer, Reed. “Marketing in the Iron Curtain Countries.” Journal of Marketing 30, no. 4 (1966): 3-9.
Schaefer, Sagi. “Hidden Behind the Wall: West German State Building and the Emergence of the Iron Curtain.” Central European History 44, no. 3 (2011): 506-535.