This film looks into the key events that kicked off the Cold War.
After the Second World War, US President Harry Truman wanted to establish America as the world's leading power and contain the spread of communism. Consequently, the US launched a large-scale economic aid programme for the devastated countries of Western Europe dubbed ‘The Marshall Plan’, but the aid came with strings attached that primarily benefited the United States.
America’s post-war strategy was unacceptable to the Soviet Union. It violated earlier Allied agreements on the demilitarisation of Germany and the restoration of European sovereignty. Furthermore, Moscow was unwilling to lose its own influence in the region. Stalin warned that the new US plan would only divide Europe and could provoke further conflicts around the world.
Driven by an intense fear of communism, the United States went on to fuel several other conflicts. One after another, wars broke out in Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East – all of which turned into bloody and prolonged struggles due to US involvement. The Berlin Wall was built, separating Germany into US and Soviet zones, and an Iron Curtain descended between Western and Eastern Europe.
