There was no single event officially called “the Berlin War,” but the city of Berlin became the center of one of the most dangerous confrontations of the 20th century. What unfolded there after World War II symbolized the global struggle between capitalism and communism and nearly pushed the world into direct superpower conflict. To understand what happened in Berlin, we must go back to the end of World War II. After World War II: Germany Divided In 1945, Nazi Germany surrendered. The Allied powers — the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union — divided Germany into four occupation zones. Berlin, though located deep inside the Soviet zone, was also divided into four sectors. Very quickly, tensions grew between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union. This marked the beginning of the Cold War. Two separate German states emerged: West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany), supported by the West. East Germany, officially called the German Democratic Republic ...

On the quiet Sunday morning of December 7, 1941 , as many Americans were preparing for church or enjoying rest with family, tragedy struck from the skies. At exactly 7:55 a.m., the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service launched a surprise attack on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This act of war would change the course of history forever. A Calculated Surprise Japan, seeking to dominate Asia and the Pacific, viewed the United States as the primary obstacle to its imperial ambitions. Negotiations between the two countries had been tense, and unbeknownst to the U.S., Japan had secretly planned a decisive blow to eliminate American power in the Pacific. The attack was meticulously planned. Two waves of Japanese aircraft — a total of 353 fighter planes, bombers, and torpedo planes — targeted battleships, airfields, and docked vessels. The Americans were completely unprepared. Radar operators had seen the planes approaching but dismissed them, believing they were American...