Berlin Blockade

• The West wanted Germany to recover economically from WW2 and for it to work as a barrier against the spread of communism into western Europe
• In June 1948, Stalin ordered all road, rail and canal links between east and west germany to be cut off
• The Soviets wanted Germany to never be a threat to the soviets again and reduced it significantly in power. they also had to pay reparations for the war
• In June 1948:

  1. The Western zones in Germany and Berlin were merged into one called TRIZONIA.
  2. The Western powers then introduced a  new currency called the DEUTSCHMARK.

  NONE OF THIS WAS DISCUSSED PREVIOUSLY WITH STALIN.
• On 30th june 1948, Truman announced the 'Berlin Airlift'. The USAF flew over 200,000 flights of c-54 and c-47 carrying 2 million tonnes of supplies to west berlin. 101 pilots died in the process due to accidents and a plane landed once every 30 minutes
• West berlin was vulnerable as it was:

  • 100 miles away from west germany
  • had 2 million people
  • only 6 weeks of supplies
• The american commanders encouraged truman to use military action however the british encouraged him to begin airlifting supplies into west berlin. This was called the Berlin Airlift (1948)
• Stalin realised that he couldn't starve out West Berlin so lifted the blockade on May 12th 1949
• RESULTS OF THE BERLIN BLOCKADE:

  • Containment seen to work
  • NATO was set up in April 1949, 12 Western Nations joined.
  • The soviet union responded to NATO by creating the Warsaw pact.
  • All hopes of a unified Germany were lost.