The Cold War began after Europe was divided-up following World War II, and an Iron Curtain separated East from West. The ideological differences between capitalism and communism alienated former allies. The Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and the Berlin Blockade created greater distrust on both sides. A communist victory in the Chinese Civil War and the subsequent Korean War moved the focus of the Cold War to Asia. Added to these conflicts was the Arms Race as the superpowers vied for nuclear supremacy. The nuclear deterrent kept them from open conflict, although their influence was felt in many countries around the world. When the Berlin wall was erected in 1961, it seemed the threat of a world war would always exist. Indeed, in 1962, events unfolded off the coast of the United States that could have triggered a Third World War. Chapters: Introduction, The Cuban Missile Crisis,?Sino-Soviet Split 1954-1963, Vietnam War, The Prague Spring 1968, D?tente, Afghanistan, The Reagan Era, Gorbachev, Perestroika And Glasnost, 1989? -? The 1990s.