Conclusion: Eastern Europe in Global Health History

Abstract

On 5 March 1946, Winston Churchill delivered his famous Fulton speech where he described an ‘Iron Curtain’ descending across the continent from Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic. The term ‘Iron Curtain’ soon became both a powerful symbol and a structural concept in understanding post-war realities. Five years later, in a lesser-known speech at the House of Commons, Churchill further elaborated on the unfolding Cold War. In a parliamentary debate on exports to China, speaking as the MP for Woodford, his words revealed the relationship with the communist East as the following: