Germany was divided into East and West during the Cold War. Following World War II, Germany was partitioned into four occupation zones controlled by the United States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. Over time, differences in political ideologies between the Western Allies (capitalist democracies) and the Soviet Union (communist regime) led to the formal division of Germany into West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany) and East Germany (German Democratic Republic) in 1949. This division symbolized the broader ideological conflict of the Cold War, with Berlin Wall becoming a literal and figurative boundary between the East and West until reunification in 1990.