Final answer:
The division of Berlin into occupation zones established a physical and ideological divide within the city, leading to the formation of West Germany and East Germany and setting the stage for the Cold War.
Step-by-step explanation:
The post-WWII division of Berlin into occupation zones had a profound impact on the city and the larger geopolitical landscape. The occupation zones set by the Allied Powers and the Soviet Union created a physical and ideological divide within Berlin, which would later manifest itself as the Berlin Wall.
The city became the epicenter of Cold War tensions. The division affected Berlin economically, socially, and politically, leading to the development of two distinct German states: the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).
By 1948, the different approaches to governance and economic reconstruction between the western Allies and the Soviet Union became unmanageable, culminating in Stalin's blockade of Berlin. This precipitated the Berlin Airlift, a massive effort by the western Allies to supply Berlin with food and other necessities.
In response to the ongoing tension, Western powers united their zones into West Germany, while the Soviet Union formed East Germany. The capital, Berlin, thus embodied the struggle between Western capitalist democracies and Eastern communist states, with West Berlin becoming an island of capitalism within the communist sphere.
Ultimately, the division of Berlin into sectors by the Allies and the resulting political decisions shaped the development of the Cold War, leading to both significant hardship for Berlin's residents and a focus of international political and military tension for the next four decades.