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February 4-11, 1945: The Yalta Conference

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February 4-11, 1945: The Yalta Conference

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The 'Big Three' - Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin - met at the Livadia Palace to discuss Europe's post-war reorganization. Key agreements included the division of Germany and the declaration of free elections in Eastern Europe. This conference revealed early tensions between the Allied powers that would later contribute to the Cold War.

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July 17 - August 2, 1945: The Potsdam Conference

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July 17 - August 2, 1945: The Potsdam Conference

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The final Allied summit of World War II, bringing together Truman, Churchill (later Clement Attlee), and Stalin. The conference finalized plans for Germany's occupation and administration. Tensions increased as Truman informed Stalin of the atomic bomb, while Stalin remained firm on Soviet control of Eastern Europe.

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August 6, 1945: Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima

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August 6, 1945: Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima

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The United States dropped the first atomic bomb, code-named 'Little Boy,' on Hiroshima. This unprecedented display of American military power would reshape global politics and it marked the beginning of the nuclear age.

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August 9, 1945: Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki

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August 9, 1945: Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki

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Three days after Hiroshima, the US dropped a second atomic bomb, 'Fat Man,' on Nagasaki. These demonstrations of American nuclear capability created deep concern in the Soviet Union, spurring their own nuclear weapons program.

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February 9, 1946: Stalin's Election Speech

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February 9, 1946: Stalin's Election Speech

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Stalin delivered a speech at the Bolshoi Theatre declaring that communism and capitalism were incompatible, and that war was inevitable. This speech heightened Western fears about Soviet expansionism and marked a clear ideological division between East and West.

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George Kennan, American diplomat in Moscow, sent his famous 'Long Telegram' to Washington, analyzing Soviet behavior and recommending a policy of 'containment.' This document profoundly influenced American Cold War strategy for decades to come.

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March 5, 1946: Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech

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March 5, 1946: Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech

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Winston Churchill delivered his famous 'Iron Curtain' speech at Westminster College, declaring that an 'iron curtain' had descended across Europe. This speech publicly acknowledged the growing divide between the Soviet and Western spheres of influence.

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The dying embers of World War II still cast a shadow long over the postwar world when Winston Churchill arrived in the small Midwestern town of Fulton, Missouri in the spring of 1946. Westminster College seemed an unlikely place for the former British Prime Minister to deliver a speech of global importance. President Harry Truman penned a note at the bottom of the college's invitation: "This is a wonderful school in my home state. If you come, I will introduce you. Hope you can do it."

Churchill, who had won the war in Europe, only to lose in the British general election in July 1945, eagerly accepted the invitation to appear on the same platform with the President of the United States.

Churchill knew that while the world looked forward to putting the horrors of war behind, events at the beginning of 1946 portended an even darker future ahead. In the wake of the Allied victory, the Soviet Union had begun shaping Eastern Europe in their image, bringing the governments of many nations into line with Moscow. On February 9, Premier Joseph Stalin gave a speech in which he declared that war between the East and West was inevitable. On February 22, the American Ambassador to Moscow, George F. Kennan, sent the famous "Long Telegram" warning of the Soviet Union's perpetual hostility towards the West.

Then, on March 5, 1946, at Westminster College in Fulton, Churchill's famous words "From Stettin in the Baltic, to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent," ushered in the Cold War and framed the geo-political landscape for the next 50 years. The former Prime Minister, with President Truman at his side, articulated the threat that the Soviet Union and communism posed to peace and stability in the post-war world. Invoking the spirit of the Atlantic Charter he called for a strengthening of Anglo-American ties and for the United Nations to become a peace-promoting world organization that would succeed where its predecessor the League of Nations had failed.

" The Sinews of Peace," the title Churchill himself gave his address, endures today as one of the statesman's most significant speeches. It not only made the term "iron curtain" a household phrase, but it coined the term "special relationship," describing enduring alliance between the United States and Great Britain. It is a speech that offered a blueprint for the west to ultimately wage-and win-the Cold War.
This article is part of a series commemorating the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II made possible by the Department of Defense.
Meet the Authors

The author is Stephen Rogers, Westminster College, with input from Timothy Riley, Sandra L, and Monroe E Trout, Director and Chief Curator at America's National Churchill Museum.

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Winston Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech-March 5, 1946 | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans

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Churchill's famed "Iron Curtain" speech ushered in the Cold War and made the term a household phrase.

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President Truman announced his doctrine to Congress, pledging American support to nations resisting communist expansion. This speech marked the formal declaration of America's Cold War containment policy.