MAP 27.2 Divided Germany and the Berlin Airlift, 1946–1949

Berlin—controlled by the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union—was deep in the Soviet zone of occupation and became a major point of contention among the former allies. When the USSR blockaded the western half of the city, the United States responded with a massive airlift. To stop movement between the two zones, the USSR built the Berlin Wall in 1961 and used troops to patrol it.