Berlin was central to the Cold War between Eastern Soviet Communism and Western Capitalism as events in this divided city had profound impacts on the escalation and resolution of conflict and tensions throughout the War.
The division of Germany and Berlin into four occupation zones was devised at the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, and established Berlin, which was located in Soviet occupied territory, as the hub of ideological conflict and struggle between the two superpowers throughout the war. The Berlin Blockade of 1948, a Soviet attempt to push Western influence out of Berlin, and the American Airlift response demonstrated the value of Berlin occupation for both superpowers in the Cold War and symbolised the rising tensions between these superpowers. The border between East and West Berlin became a symbol of the conflict between the Soviets and America after the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961. The wall was a Soviet response to stem mass migration from East to West, and remained a prominent, popular representation of the hostility and underlying ideological disagreements and division between Communism and Capitalism until its fall in November 1989, although attempts to somewhat overcome this division that divided Europe took place through Ostpolitik policies which improved relations both across the Berlin Wall and Europe. The fall of the Berlin Wall was central to the collapse of Communism and the Soviet Union, supporting the notion that events in Berlin affected the wider context of the Cold War.
The division of Germany and Berlin into four occupation zones was devised at the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, and established Berlin, which was located in Soviet occupied territory, as the hub of ideological conflict and struggle between the two superpowers throughout the war. The Berlin Blockade of 1948, a Soviet attempt to push Western influence out of Berlin, and the American Airlift response demonstrated the value of Berlin occupation for both superpowers in the Cold War and symbolised the rising tensions between these superpowers. The border between East and West Berlin became a symbol of the conflict between the Soviets and America after the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961. The wall was a Soviet response to stem mass migration from East to West, and remained a prominent, popular representation of the hostility and underlying ideological disagreements and division between Communism and Capitalism until its fall in November 1989, although attempts to somewhat overcome this division that divided Europe took place through Ostpolitik policies which improved relations both across the Berlin Wall and Europe. The fall of the Berlin Wall was central to the collapse of Communism and the Soviet Union, supporting the notion that events in Berlin affected the wider context of the Cold War.