1945–1953: From World War to Cold War

Wednesday 11 April, 8pm

YESTERDAY In February 1945, Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill and Franklin D Roosevelt met at the Black Sea resort Yalta in the Crimea. They gathered to discuss the reorganisation of Europe in the wake of the Nazis, and to try to create the conditions for lasting peace. So how did the world go from such optimism to the decadeslong chill of the Cold War?

It’s a question explored over two episodes in a series that mixes archive footage, photographs, original letters and firsthand testimonies to show how wartime allies became ideologically opposed rivals when the guns fell silent.