  A connection between the Hagedorn transition in string theory and the
deconfinement transition in (non-supersymmetric) Yang-Mills theory is made
using the AdS/CFT correspondence. We modify the model of zero temperature QCD
proposed by Witten by compactifying an additional space-time coordinate with
supersymmetry breaking boundary conditions thus introducing a finite
temperature in the boundary theory. There is a Hagedorn-like transition
associated with winding modes around this coordinate, which signals a topology
changing phase transition to a new AdS/Schwarzschild blackhole where this
coordinate is the time coordinate. In the boundary gauge theory time like
Wilson loops acquire an expectation value above this temperature.
