After Stalin's death in March 1953, many in the West were hopeful that it might be possible to overcome the Cold War and settle the plethora of outstanding East-West questions with the new leaders in the Kremlin. However, less than a decade after Stalin's death the Berlin Wall was erected and the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world close to nuclear annihilation. Was this development unavoidable? The essays in this book offer a historical understanding of this crucial period of the Cold War, assessing both the possibilities for change and the obstacles to détente. All of the essays are based on original research, many of them drawing from previously inaccessible archival documents from both the East and West.