Final answer:
Winston Churchill used the term "iron curtain" to describe the ideological and physical divide between democratic Western Europe and Communist-dominated Eastern Europe, established after World War II, which marked the beginning of the Cold War.
Step-by-step explanation:
The term "iron curtain" was used by Winston Churchill to describe the separation of Europe into two distinct areas: the democratic West and the Communist-dominated East. Churchill avidly believed that an ideological divide had been formed, cutting off Eastern Europe from the rest of the continent, thus effectively trapping them under Soviet influence and creating a barrier to freedom and open relations. The phrase 'iron curtain' was first publicly used in his speech on March 5, 1946, in Fulton, Missouri, to emphasize the division and to signal a growing American-Soviet Conflict that characterized the onset of the Cold War. In his speech, Churchill stated, "From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent." He used this metaphor to illustrate the sharp divide and the loss of freedom for those living under Communist regimes, as well as to call for American support in opposing Soviet expansion.