March 5: Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” Speech (1946)
Prayer Idea
Pray that people would work together to dismantle “iron curtains” of suspicion and conflict in our world.
History Note
Winston Churchill led the United Kingdom as Prime Minister during World War II. In July 1945, after the war in Europe ended, Churchill’s political party lost control of Parliament, and he resigned.
Churchill made a visit to the United States in 1946. He had accepted an invitation to speak at a small college in a small town in Missouri. President Harry Truman had forwarded the school’s invitation to Churchill with a personal note. Truman introduced Churchill to an audience of 2,700 gathered in the gymnasium of Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri.
In his speech, Winston Churchill stated that an “iron curtain” had descended upon Europe. He described how the Soviet Union’s influence in Eastern Europe and in Asia was a threat to world security. He urged the United States to work for peace by cooperating with other countries in the new United Nations.
St. Mary Aldermanbury was a church in London destroyed by the Great Fire of 1666. Architect Christopher Wren oversaw its reconstruction. The church was destroyed again during World War II by German bombing. The church lay in ruins until the 1960s when the remaining stones were moved from London to Missouri. The church was reconstructed on the campus of Westminster College, as pictured above.
Beneath the reconstructed church is the National Churchill Museum, which commemorates the life and times of Winston Churchill. Outside the church is a sculpture designed by Churchill’s granddaughter Edwina Sandys. Dedicated in 1990 and entitled “Breakthrough,” it incorporates eight sections from the Berlin Wall. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev gave a speech at Westminster College in 1992 declaring the end of the Cold War.
Photo courtesy Ammodramus / Wikimedia Commons.
Learn More
Watch this video about Winston Churchill’s 1946 visit to Westminster College and the museum you can visit today.
Learn more about Winston Churchill at Homeschool History.
