One of the biggest conflicts after World War II occurred in the city of Berlin, the capital of Germany. Berlin was split up by the Allied powers and each ally set up policies of their own. The eastern side of Berlin was run by the Soviet Union, and the western side of Berlin was run by France, the UK, and the US. On the eastern side of Berlin, the Soviet Union (Russia) set up a communist rule, and on the western side of Berlin, the other Allies set up democratic governments. Russia wanted Berlin all to themselves. In June 1948, the Russians closed all highways, railroads and canals from western-occupied Germany into western-occupied Berlin. This, they believed, would make it impossible for the people who lived there to get food or any other supplies and would eventually drive Britain, France and the U.S. out of the city for good. Tensions were building, and the Russians hoped that by cutting off the supplies to Western Berlin that the other countries would eventually give all of Berlin to Russia.
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