the area wherereeople lived under the iron boot of soviett communism was called east berlin. helps to explain what it was like to live in postwar berlin. >> two and a half million people, more than half of berlin's population, lived in the american, british, and french zones. but the whole city was surrounded by the soviet zone of germany. supplying the two and a half million people of the western sectors was a system of rails, canals, and roads. >> but the soviets wanted berlin all to themselves. so, they set up a giant blockade, cutting off the roads and railroads to west berlin. >> the suspension of all traffic successfully blocked all surface access to the city. the soviets claimed that technical difficulties caused the stoppage. the truth was that they were trying to force the western allies to surrender their position in berlin. and the weapon was hunger. >> with no food or supplies able to get in, the soviets expected the allies to pack up and leave. but they didn't. the united states and its people to be starved into accepting soviet rule. there was a big problem, tho