Joseph Goebbels Quotes
Should the German people lay down their arms, the Soviets ... would occupy all eastern and south-eastern Europe together with the greater part of the Reich. Over all this territory, which with the Soviet Union included, would be of enormous extent, an iron curtain would at once descend.
Many people mistakenly believe that this was the first political use of the “iron curtain” phrase—in German, “eiserner vorhang.” However, George Washington Crile used the phrase in 1915 {598870}. It is not known whether Geobbels knew of Crile’s work, or if Winston Churchill in his famous speech {411311} was familiar with either Crille’s or Goebbels use.
Joseph Goebbels, 1897-1945, Nazi Germany Minister of Propaganda, Das Reich, February 23, 1945
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
This was the most famous public use of the term "iron curtain" in the cold war. Churchill had used the term privately in an even earlier cable to President Truman. However, the phrase "iron curtain" was used by T. St. Vincent Wallace Troubridge even a few months earlier. Also, it appears to have been used earlier than that by Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels in Das Reich {601664}. But George Washington Crile used the phrase in a political context in 1915 {598870}. And Viscountess Snowden used the phrase in her memoirs of a Past WWI trip to Russia {616546} It is not known whether Troubridge or Churchill were familiar with those works.
This appears to be the first political reference to the phrase 'iron curtain.' The origin probably stems from the iron curtain used as a safety device in theaters in the days of gaslights and candles. Nazi Propaganda Minister Goebbels used the phrase in World War II {601664} and Churchill {411311} made it famous after the war. It is not known if any of them had known of Crile’s work.
1st Viscountess Snowden. See Winston Churchill regarding the most famous use of the “iron curtain” phrase {411311}. She seems to have been an earlier user. The phrase " iron curtain" was used by T. St. Vincent Wallace Troubridge a few months earlier than Churchill. Also, it appears to have been used earlier than that by Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels in Das Reich {601664}. But George Washington Crile used the phrase in a political context in 1915 {598870}. And Viscountess Snowden used the phrase in her memoirs of a Past WWI trip to Russia {616546}. It is not known whether Troubridge or Churchill were familiar with any of these other works.
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. One of Adolf Hitler's close associates and most devoted followers, he was known for his skills in public speaking and his deep and virulent antisemitism, which led to his supporting the extermination of the Jews in the Holocaust.
