The Cold War developed between 1943-1956 as tensions grew between the Western allies and the Soviet Union. The Soviets gained control over Eastern Europe, while ideological differences emerged between communism and capitalism. The Berlin Blockade and formation of NATO furthered the growing conflict between the US and USSR. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, several crises emerged including the divided city of Berlin, nuclear missiles in Cuba, and Soviet control over Czechoslovakia. As arms races and ideological clashes continued, the Cold War began to thaw in the late 1980s under Gorbachev, leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall and eventual collapse of the Soviet Union, bringing an end to the Cold War.