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Sources of Distrust between the East and West: Comparing the Winston Churchill’s “Iron

Curtain” Speech and Joseph Stalin’s Rebuttal

Submitted by Richard Belchamber

Submitted for HIST-1000

Submitted to Malcolm Greenshields

Submitted on March 29, 2011

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On March 5 of 1946, former Prime Minister Churchill received an honorary degree from

Westminster College, in Fulton, Missouri. In his speech afterwards he portrayed the United

States as being the pinnacle of the world power, and that the world stands on the brink with

another war this time with Russia1. On March 14, Stalin had sent his reply from Moscow

claiming that Churchill believes that only English speaking nations are allowed to decide the

destinies of others and that communism is the people’s weapon against such fascist ideals2.

These men worked together to end the war in Europe, where they transported needed supplies

and information with one another. To be on the edge of war after just finishing a horrific war,

what kind of political situation was left between these two former Allies? Most of the distrust

stems from the differences between Capitalism and Communism within that realm the issues

raised by the indecision between with post-war Europe, Russia’s need to recuperate losses

from Germany’s assault, and America’s newest devastating weapon.

The theme of communism versus capitalism was the major source of distrust between

the West and the East. Many is in the West didn’t understand what communism was and feared

that if implemented in America bank accounts and private property would be annexed for

government lands. Furthermore communist parties had spread across Europe as “the result of

fighting against fascism”, which was now in the form of the America, and Britain according to

Stalin. There was even communism within America and the British Commonwealth countries

although in these movements were still in their infancy. Churchill in his speech claimed that

Communism was a threat to all of Christian civilization and attempted to deal with the October 1 Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer. Modern History Sourcebook: Winston S. Churchill: “Iron Curtain Speech”,

March 5, 1946, (August 1997), http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/churchill-iron.html (Accessed 15 February 2011). 2 Stalin, Joseph. Modern History Sourcebook: Stalin: Reply to Churchill, 1946, (August 1997), http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1946stalin.html (Accessed 15 February 20).

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Revolution in 1922 (while he was still Minister of Defence) which eventually allowed

Communism to flourish in Russia3,4.

Britain and America’s wartime relationship started long before Pearl Harbour, when

American President Theodore Roosevelt convinced congress to sent aid to Britain by means of

supplies and materials for the war effort. The ease of these interactions was mediated by a

shared language and societal archetype. These bonds allowed organization between the two to

create a unified front of in science and industry, not forgetting to mention their combined

military presence in the air and in the sea. Churchill believed that with America and Britain

leading the way pacification of the Europe through the newly formed United Nations could be

achieved.

The change involved with democracy in the political leaders could also been a source of

mistrust between the East and the West as seen by the Dictator Joseph Stalin. The most

influential of the Allied leaders meetings was the Yalta agreement the where British Prime

Minister Churchill, President Roosevelt, and Stalin of Russia met in Crimea5. This meeting

occurred in February of 1945, when Russian forces were within 100 miles of Berlin, Germany

and victory in Europe looked to be an guarantee, although the war in Pacific was still raging on

was not expected to end for at least another two years6. The Yalta agreement proposed that

American and British forces would allow Russian concessions over land they liberated from

German rule in exchange for assistance with the campaign in Japan. The Western Nations

wanted to democracy to flourish in Eastern European and not to be swayed by communism. In

3 Robert Service. Stalin: A Biography (Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2005), 462. 4 Churchill, http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/churchill-iron.html 5 Donald Kagan et al. The Western Heritage: Brief edition, 6th ed. (Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2010), 737. 6 Churchill, http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/churchill-iron.html

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the end the Western powers made concession to allow the U.S.S.R. freedom over land access in

exchange for help with war with Japan after the war with Germany is finished. At this time

there were no serious plans placed forward for a division of post-war Germany7. At the

Potsdam agreement in July of 1945, faces had changed radically in the United States and Britain

but policies remained largely unchanged. The three main leaders were American President

Harry Truman, British Prime Minister Clement Attlee, and Joseph Stalin, Marshal of the U.S.S.R.

A new weapon meant that Russia was no longer necessary in the war with Japan in America’s

eyes, much to the dismay of Stalin’s new stance of wanting to declare war on Japan. The

nuclear option also worked as a deterrent against any Russian offensive until 19498.

Stalin claimed in his speech that Russian losses were several time higher than those of

both America’s and Britain’s losses. The German campaign strategy for Russia was one of

extermination, and Russian casualties reflected that reality9. Even Churchill in his speech

references this in the respect of the British people had to those brave Russian soldiers who paid

with their lives to keep a second front open against Germany10. The result left Russia

industrially weak and there was need to recuperate costs from Germany in terms of industry

and material goods.11

The result of this distrust resulted in the Cold War, where these the Western and

Eastern factions separated into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949 and the

7 William McNeill. America, Britain and Russia: The Co-operation and Conflict (Toronto: Oxford University Press,

1953), 546. 8 Service, 475. 502 9 Kagan et al, 727 10 Stalin, http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1946stalin.html 11 Service, 465

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Warsaw Pact in 1955.12 While the NATO countries worked together under separate leaders, the

Warsaw pact was reported directly to the Soviet Union through the local communist parties. In

response to the U.S.S.R.’s expansionist tendencies immediately after the Second World War,

Western countries in 1947 (most prominently America and Britain) took the policy of

containment to resist Soviet influence and expansion.13 In 1949, the Soviet Union successful

tested their atomic bomb making them the second World Superpower. Although the Warsaw

pact was established after Stalin’s death in 1953, the former dictator’s interactions with its

allies during the Second World War would established the tone and background for the next 50

years around the world especially in either militarily or peace conferences or even organized

sports such as the Olympics. That theme would be prevalent during the Korean War, the

division between East and West Germany, the Cuban Missile crisis (where the world came

perilous close to nuclear war), the Vietnam War, the Soviet invasions of Czechoslovakia and

later the invasion of Afghanistan14. In December of 1991, the Soviet Union dissolved and the

Communist party lost all power it once held as a political force with the rise of Boris Yeltsin.

Former state-owned companies were privatized, and a new constitution and parliament were

set up, in an attempt to get rid of the corrupt political of the old communist party15.

12 Kagan et al, 746 13 Kagan et al, 742 14 Kagan et al, 763 15 Kagan et al, 764

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Bibliography

Kagan, Donald et al. The Western Heritage: Brief edition, 6th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2010.

McNeill, William. America, Britain and Russia: The Co-operation and Conflict. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1953.

Service, Robert. Stalin: A Biography. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2005.

Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer. Modern History Sourcebook: Winston S. Churchill: “Iron Curtain Speech”, March 5, 1946 (August 1997). http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/churchill-iron.html (Accessed 15 February 2011)

Stalin, Joseph. Modern History Sourcebook: Stalin: Reply to Churchill, 1946 (August 1997). http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1946stalin.html (Accessed 15 February 2011)