This podcast looks at what started the Cold War after the defeat of Japan and Germany.  It will look at the ideological differences between communism and capitalism, the history of mistrust before 1945 and the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences.  It then proceeds to focus on the division of Europe by the ‘Iron Curtain’, Stalin’s consolidation of power in the East and Truman’s response with the policy of containment: the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan.  The last section will focus on developments in post-war Germany and the issue of Berlin - leading to Stalin’s blockade and the American airlift.