The Berlin blockade and airlift

• Berlin had been divided into four sectors (French, British, American and Russian) following the war and each country was responsible for their own sector
• Berlin was 100 miles inside of the Russian zone, meaning the Allies had to travel through the Russian zone of Germany to get to their section of Berlin
• By 1948, the Western zones of Germany were recovering mainly as a result of Marshall Aid, however the Russians had removed a large amount of resources from their zone, resulting in much worse living conditions
• The Allies introduced a new currency, the Deutschmark, that would be used throughout their zones in Germany
• Britain, France and the USA joined their zones together to create Trizonia
• Stalin cut all land access to Berlin for the Allies, citing 'technical difficulties'

  24 June 1948
• Berlin Blockade


  The cutting off of all land access to Berlin for the Allies by Stalin
• Stalin did not intend to risk war over Berlin, he likely wanted to show that the Soviets also had power in Germany which could match the demonstrations of economic power and unity that the West had just shown
• The Berlin Blockade was the first serious clash between the members of the former Grand Alliance, and from this point, it was very clear that the Cold War had begun
• The Western Allies were not prepared to risk armed conflict with the Soviets to open the way to West Berlin, so they decided that their sectors of Berlin would be supplied by air
• Berlin Airlift


  The supply of West Berlin by air during the Berlin Blockade
• The Berlin Blockade was lifted

  May 1949
• West Berlin only had enough food for 36 days when the blockade began
• There was rationing amongst West Berliners during the blockade
• Planes landed every 2 minutes during the Berlin Airlift
• In total, 2 million tonnes of supplies were airlifted in during the Berlin Airlift
• 101 men died during the Berlin Airlift
• The Berlin Blockade ended after 324 days


  12th May 1949
• The Berlin Airlift was a propaganda defeat for the Soviets and a great boost for the West
• NATO was formed in April 1949 for the common defence of Europe
• The Berlin Airlift convinced the West that Germany could not be united, and they declared their zones a separate state
• The German Federal Republic (West Germany) was set up


  May 1949
• The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was created from the Soviet zone


  October 1949
• Berlin remained a flashpoint in east-west relations
• The crisis highlighted the dangers of superpower conflict, but also showed the limitations, as the Soviets did not use their larger army and the US did not use their atom bomb
• Containment was proven to have worked, as West Berlin had remained under a capitalist government
• NATO


  • USA, UK, Canada, West Germany, Portugal, France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg
• Warsaw Pact


  • USSR, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, East Germany, Albania