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It was erected by the Soviet Union after the war and was the first part of the [[Cold War]]. Although drawn from the use of actual "curtains" of iron used in [[theater]]s to prevent the spread of fire, the phrase was probably first used in a metaphorical sense by [[H. G. Wells]] in 1901, and later by [[Joseph Goebbels]] (February 1945) and [[German]] politician Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk (May 1945). It achieved wider exposure and popularity when it was used by [[Winston Churchill]] in a speech at Westminster College, Fulton, [[Missouri]] on 5 March 1946: "From [[Stettin]] in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the Continent."<ref>''Sinews of Peace'' Speech by Winston Churchill [http://www.historyguide.org/europe/churchill.html The History Guide]. Accessed 5 February 2008</ref> [[Stalin]] responded to Churchill's speech by calling it a "declaration of war".<ref>''Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe'' International Relations 1945-1991 [httphttps://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/ir2/sovietexpansionineasterneuroperev2.shtml BBC Schools]. Accessed 5 February 2008</ref><ref>'''Zubok, Vladislov''' ''Stalin used Churchill speech to tighten Iron Curtain'' [https://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/02/reflections/ CNN Interactive]. Accessed 5 February 2008</ref> The [[Berlin Wall]] became its most visible symbol, dividing the German city into the free [[West Berlin]] and [[East Berlin]] under Soviet [[dictator]]ship.