Explain the Berlin Blockade.

The Berlin Blockade began on the 24th June 1948. It occurred during the division of Germany following Germany's defeat in World War Two. It was decided by the wartime allies that Germany be divided into four zones; with the USA, France and Britain controlling the west and the USSR controlling the east. As a result of emerging tensions between the western allies and the USSR over the future of Germany, the USSR initiated a blockade on west Germany. The USSR blocked all road and rail links to west Germany in order to push the allies out. The allies responded by airlifting supplies into west Germany to ensure the population would not starve. Eventually, the USSR ended the blockade in May 1949.