wikipedia
English
Etymology
Dates back to 1821 in the sense of an impenetrable barrier, then in the 1920s referring to the limits of the Soviet sphere of influence. Used (in German) during w:World War II|World War II by w:Joseph Goebbels|Joseph Goebbels. In English it appeared in telegrams from w:Winston Churchill|Winston Churchill to w:Harry S. Truman|Harry S. Truman in 1945 before being popularized by Churchill in a speech he gave at Westminster College in w:Fulton, Missouri|Fulton, Missouri 5 March 1946. (Reference: w:Iron Curtain|wikipedia on Iron Curtain, and w:Nigel Rees|Nigel Rees, Sayings of the Century on telegrams.)
Noun
Iron Curtain
#Cold War term used to describe the dividing line between western Europe and the Soviet controlled regions.
#: 5 March 1946: From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an "iron curtain" has descended across the Continent. — speech by w:Winston Churchill|Winston Churchill
Translations
Estonian: raudne eesriie
Finnish: rautaesirippu
German: Eiserne Vorhang m
mid
Swedish: järnridån c
Category:Politics
Category:Communism
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