Churchill's speech defined the world
order for the next 40 years
Posted on 03/05/2006 1:30:21 PM PST by bd476
In his "Iron Curtain" speech, delivered exactly 60 years ago, Winston Churchill brilliantly defined an era. The speech may also have lessons for the present.
It was a heroic but troubled time. The world was in turmoil after the most terrible conflict in human history.
On 5 March 1946 Churchill was no longer the UK's prime minister but he still enjoyed a giant reputation around the world.
So US President Harry Truman himself travelled 1,000 miles to Fulton, Missouri, to hear Churchill give a speech after receiving an honorary degree at Westminster College there.
It would become one of the most famous speeches of the century.
Churchill had been mocked in Britain in the 1930s for warning of the menace of war from Nazi Germany, but had been proved right in the end. Now he was about to do it again.
After expressing his admiration for the valiant Russian people and "my wartime comrade, Marshall Stalin", he spoke the words which came to define the oppression, fear and confrontation of the Cold War era:
"From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an Iron Curtain has descended across the continent...
...Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. 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".
It was vintage Churchill - grave, eloquent and ruthlessly honest.
It was a plea to America, already the world's greatest superpower, to acknowledge the harsh reality about Stalin - that on his orders the Russians were in the process of imposing totalitarian rule by communist governments in all the countries under their military control.
America had long been reluctant to accept this conclusion. But by the following year President Truman had decided on a policy of containment of Soviet power.
In 1948 any remaining doubts were removed by the communist takeover in Czechoslovakia and the Berlin Blockade, when the Russians tried but failed to starve West Berlin into submission.
Prescient words
Stalin was furious at the Iron Curtain speech. He called Churchill a "warmonger" and banned its publication in the Soviet Union.
After all these years Churchill's Iron Curtain speech reads like an example of true statesmanship But Churchill's speech was far-sighted.
It clearly prophesied the Cold War, which was to last until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
During an era of more than 40 years, both East and West lived under the constant threat of devastating nuclear war.
The time of maximum danger may have been the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.
The Soviet Red Army used its tanks to quell rebellions in East Germany in 1953, Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968.
The Soviet grip on its satellites was weakened by Poland's Solidarity revolt in 1980-81.
But few predicted how the Iron Curtain would eventually be torn down - by a series of "people power" revolutions which led to the overthrow of communist regimes across eastern Europe in 1989, followed by the dissolution of the Soviet Union itself in 1991.
Continuing distrust
The 60th anniversary of the speech has brought many reflections on its relevance for the present.
Fall of the Berlin Wall, 1989
The legacy of Russian domination
survived the fall of the Berlin Wall.
At Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, the anniversary weekend was marked by lavish celebrations and calls for free societies to renew their commitment to defending freedom and democracy everywhere.
The nearby Churchill Memorial Museum and Library has been renovated with high-tech interactive facilities designed to "bring Churchill alive" to a new generation of visitors.
In Hungary and the Czech Republic - two of the nations forced to submit to Soviet domination for nearly half a century - this 60th anniversary comes just a few days after a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin, which was the first by a Russian leader since Boris Yeltsin in the early 1990s.
The long chill in Russia's relations with its former satellites reflected their determination to escape from Russia's shadow by joining Nato and the European Union.
Their mistrust of Moscow was reinforced by the Russian army's excesses in Chechnya, the Putin government's efforts to influence the political future of Ukraine, and the energy crisis early this year when Russia abruptly cut off gas supplies to Ukraine in a dispute about prices.
President Putin made gestures of conciliation on his tour.
He acknowledged a sense of "moral responsibility" for the Soviet Union's bloody suppression of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and for its invasion of Czechoslovakia to crush the "Prague Spring".
And he called for a new economic partnership with those countries, free from what he called "artificial political considerations".
'Wake-up call'
Mr. Putin insisted that the world must not confuse the old Soviet Union with modern Russia.
But some uncomfortable parallels between the two were drawn during his tour.
In Hungary seven human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, accused Russia of violating democratic standards by persecuting dissidents in the same way as Moscow did during the Cold War.
In Prague, a newspaper published a letter from former President Vaclav Havel and other democratic champions.
It charged Mr Putin's government with using Chechen terrorism as a pretext to take away political freedoms won by Russians when the Soviet Union collapsed.
After all these years Churchill's Iron Curtain speech reads like an example of true statesmanship, and perhaps the most memorable "wake-up call" in post-War history.
It also displays the genius with words that would later bring Churchill yet another honour - the Nobel Prize for Literature.
In an age of great uncertainty it projected Churchill's iron conviction of purpose.
His core beliefs were in the special bond between America and Britain, the need for the United Nations to be "a force for action and not merely a frothing of words", and the duty of the Western democracies to stand up for freedom and against tyranny.
Sixty years later, there are more democratic governments in the world than ever.
Yet such moral certainty is rare, and the authority with which Churchill's expressed it is surely rarer still.
This is part of BBC's 60th anniversary coverage of Churchill's "Sinews of Peace (Iron Curtain)" speech.
The complete text of Sir Winston Churchill's Sinews of Peace (Iron Curtain) speech is important enough, in my opinion, to merit its own thread found here:
March 5, 1946 Churchill's Sinews of Peace - Iron Curtain Speech
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
I can hear the NEA braying now: "Why? It's Just more meaningless xenophobic old world thinking from some Dead White Man!" < /sarc
The Fulton Sun
Winston Churchill's visit through the eyes of ...
By JON HETZEL
The Fulton Sun
March 3, 2006
Climbing up Westminster College President Franc L. McCluer's front porch, alumnus Art Whorton snapped this picture of Sir Winston Churchill and President Harry S. Truman before the Secret Service could respond. (Contributed photo)
The 60th anniversary of Winston Churchill's visit to Fulton kicks off today at 4 p.m. with a question and answer session with Lady Soames, Churchill's only surviving daughter at Champ Auditorium.
No doubt, there will be some people at this weekend's festivities who were present when Churchill gave his famous speech. In commemoration of that day, The Fulton Sun has compiled a short list of personal accounts for your enjoyment.
* * * * *
... Art Whorton, The False Photographer
With a crazy idea and a flash of courage, Art Whorton, 29, sat within 25 feet of Sir Winston Churchill after sneaking past the Secret Service.
Whorton, an alumnus of Westminster College, had recently returned from duty with the United States Navy. Westminster graduates were offered tickets to hear Churchill from inside the gymnasium, but Whorton was too slow in sending in his reservation. Walking around Fulton on the day of the event, he fully expected to be shut out of the historic speech.
Watching in envy as the select few were ushered inside the gym, Whorton noticed a group of Time and Life magazine photographers walking past the watchful eye of the Secret Service.
“I saw the photographers with their green press stickers in the brim of their felt hats, and I got out my green Navy Reserve ID card, put it in my hat, wore my camera and flash gun around my neck, and followed them in,” Whorton said.
The Secret Service did not look closely at Whorton or his “press card,” and he sat down in an aisle after there were no seats available. Expecting any minute to be escorted out, Whorton played the part and sat near Churchill.
“I could do nothing but sit on a step in an empty aisle facing the speaker podium and hope not to be ejected,” he said. “(Churchill) looked at me and knew I was out of place,” Whorton remembers. “He fixed his eyes on me for a few seconds and I imagined he sort of winked at me.”
After the event, Whorton followed the procession back to Westminster President Franc McCluer's house, and before the Secret Service could stop him, he climbed up the porch rail and snapped a photo of President Harry S. Truman and Churchill.
“As they walked up the steps to the front door on the porch, I ran to the side of the porch, grabbed a railing, jumped up and leaned over ... to take pictures,” Whorton said.
McCluer recognized Whorton and said hello, indicating that Whorton was a familiar face, and the Secret Service backed away, never laying a finger on him all day.
* * * * *
... Martha Clapp, The College Student
Martha Clapp, 22, returned home from her studies at the University of Missouri for the grand event. Clapp and her family had received tickets to hear Churchill, and after sitting down to a country ham dinner - the same meal Churchill ate that day - they watched the parade go by before claiming their seats.
“We didn't realize they were going to close the doors early and the Secret Service stopped us,” Clapp said. “We didn't get in.”
Disappointed, Clapp stood outside in disappointment until an unknown vehicle pulled beside her.
“I was standing in front of the gym and a college boy came up with his radio going and told me to get in to listen to (Churchill),” Clapp said. “I didn't know him and never saw him again, but I did listen to the speech and it was a great day.”
* * * * *
... Ruth May Markus, The Radio Personality
Ruth May Markus, 29, a pioneer in female radio personalities, covered Churchill's visit to Fulton.
“I was the only woman to do a direct broadcast for the ‘Sinews of Peace' speech,” Markus said.
Broadcasting under the radio pseudonym “Kay Morton,” Markus said the press had received Churchill's speech ahead of time and were listening intently to every word when the leader diverted from his outline.
“Suddenly he dropped this bomb, ‘From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste - an iron curtain has descended,' and a pall went over the entire audience.”
Markus said everyone realized there were impending problems and possible war ahead, and it hit the world hard.
“It took our breath away. It was terribly serious,” Markus said.
Markus said Churchill intentionally withheld his iron curtain phrase from the press until he made the statement in his speech.
“He used it for that particular moment,” she said.
* * * * *
... Walter Benke, The Shop Owner
In 1946, Walter Benke, 23, was the owner of the Trade Center, a small grocery store at 521 Court St. On the day of the grand parade, Benke said the crowds outside of his shop packed the streets - a fact that pleased him.
“I'd bought 50 oversize cigars and I laid them in the front window with a sign that said they were in commemoration of Winston Churchill,” Benke said. “I think people could take them home for a dollar each - and they sold out.”
Benke said he stopped working as the parade slowly went by.
“The parade came up with Churchill and Truman. (The president) was waving to people and Churchill was giving his peace sign.”
As a businessman, Benke said he remembers all the restaurants gearing up for business and churches preparing supper for the crowd. However, because commentators on the radio kept pushing that Fulton had few amenities, “The crowd disappeared much more quickly than they appeared.”
In retrospect, Benke said he had been surprised to hear Churchill was coming to Fulton - “A little country town.”
“It was great,” he concluded. “There was very much a foresight in selecting Fulton and putting the memorial there. It was the right place.”
* * * * *
... Helen Means, The Speech Typist
Helen Means, 21, was working at the Missouri School for the Deaf as a typing instructor when she was asked to help type Churchill's speech.
“On that day, the National Guard sent a jeep to pick some of us up and took us to Westminster to work with the press,” Means said.
Along with other typists, Means worked in the basement of gymnasium.
“As soon as we would get a section typed, the press was there and picked it up,” she said. “It was then sent out over the airways. ... I still have an original copy of the speech that I kept and typed.”
Means said she also remembers that there were many, many sandwiches made around town for the visitors to eat, but because the crowd was less than expected, many meals were left uneaten.
Rather than letting the food go to waste, “they brought the sandwiches over to the Missouri School for the Deaf and left them for the students,” she said.
* * * * *
... Raymond Miller, The Parade Driver
Raymond Miller, 19, a United States Merchant Marine, was home on leave when he was asked to drive a yellow, 1946 Plymouth Convertible in the parade. Mayor H. Clay McGregor sat in the back of the vehicle.
“Officials wanted some convertibles and dignitaries in the parade,” Miller said.
Driving near the back of the line, Miller remembers watching the crowds stand shoulder to shoulder along the street.
“There were huge, huge crowds,” he said.
It only was later that Miller realized that the gentleman he was chauffeuring had pulled his leg.
“I thought he was the mayor at the time,” Miller said. “But he ran (McGregor) Cleaners at the time.”
* * * * *
... George Tutt, The Birthday Boy
George Tutt, 11, was celebrating his birthday when he was given an unexpected gift from the hand of Churchill.
“A number of children had been invited to my grandmother's house on West Seventh Street to help me celebrate,” Tutt remembers. When the motorcade came down the street, all the children stood on the wide porch banister so they could see over the crowd and get a glimpse of the two important men.”
Standing with his friends, Tutt watched as Truman spotted them and waved.
“(Truman) then tapped Sir Winston's arm,” Tutt said. “The great man saw us and waved. He then gave me one of the greatest birthday gifts I ever received - his famous ‘V' sign.”
* * * * *
... Vernon Clatterbuck, The Parade Watcher
Vernon Clatterbuck, 28, had recently returned from serving in World War II and was working at Branstetter Garage in Fulton. On the day of Churchill's visit, Clatterbuck watched the procession pass the corner of Market Street and St. Louis Avenue.
“I will never forget watching the parade as it worked its way through the streets of our town,” Clatterbuck said. “People came from all over Missouri and some from out of state.”
Not satisfied only with one viewing of Churchill and Truman, Clatterbuck dashed to another location in town.
“When the parade went by, I walked - well, actually I ran - across to Court Street,” he said. “Just to see two World War II leaders ... was an event that thrilled thousands of people.”
Winston Churchill's visit through the eyes of ...
That is the truth. You really hit the nail on the head.
If you are interested, I posted the complete text of Sir Winston Churchill's Sinews of Peace (Iron Curtain) speech here:
March 5, 1946 Churchill's Sinews of Peace - Iron Curtain Speech
Bump for later read.
W. Churchhill ping.
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