Speaking before an august audience that included President Harry S. Truman, Churchill declared: “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent." Churchill wasn’t the first person to employ the phrase “iron curtain" as a political metaphor. Nevertheless, “iron curtain" became indelibly associated with Churchill and with the defense of freedom and democracy. Successive dynasties continued to fortify the Great Wall until the mid-17th century. A similar resolve among the NATO allies led to the collapse of the Iron Curtain in 1991, when the Soviet Union was dissolved and withdrew its armies from Eastern Europe.

Source: Mint February 25, 2021 19:18 UTC