From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain had descended across the Continent

Today (March 5) in 1946 Churchill made his famous iron curtain speech (“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain had descended across the Continent.”) at the Westminster College in a Missouri small town, Fulton.

It was the idea of the president of this small college.  He asked Harry Vaughan (then President Truman’s military aid and who once played football at Westminster College) to make the connection.  Truman liked the idea; he wrote “This is a wonderful school in my home state.  Hope you can do it.  I’ll introduce you.  Best regards.”

While playing cards on the train on the way to Missouri from the White House.  Churchill said “Mr. President, I think that when we are playing poker I will call you Harry.”

“All right, Winston,” Truman replied.

 

Truman & Churchill en route to Fulton, Missouri (photo credit: Boris Johnson's The Churchill Factor)

The response to the speech was quite negative.  The Wall Street Journal said the U.S. had no need for alliance with any other nation.  Walter Lippmann said the speech was an “almost catastrophic blunder.”  Stalin said it was a “call to war” with the Soviet Union.

 

Of course, the course of the history has turned out that Churchill was right; he was just ahead of every one else.