This is a big event that took place so early in the time of Cold War. This was a clear head to head between the Western powers, as guided by the U.S; and the Soviet Union, which was divided following World War II. The blockade of Berlin by the Soviets was a long and bad lesson in what could go wrong with relationships across the Iron Curtain, and both politically and economically it was a far-reaching development that fundamentally altered the shape of the Cold War.

The Background: A Divided Berlin

After the defeat of Nazi Germany, Berlin, the capital of Germany, was divided into four sectors, each controlled by one of the Allied powers: Soviet Union, the United States, the United Kingdom and France. It was very deep in the Soviet controlled zone, later East Germany.

1. East and West Publicly Tensions Rise

[a] key feature during the early years of the Cold War was a multiplication of tensions between the Soviet Union and the Western powers that had borne ideological differences. Both the United States and its allies saw the role for rebuilding the Western European under democratic principles, while the Soviet Union wanted to spread communism to East Europe.

The Berlin Blockade

In June 1948, on the advice of Berlin’s western commanders, the United States and Britain asked the Soviet Union to allow land and water transport into West Berlin, which would cut off the city from the rest of the world. The aim of the blockade was to force the Western powers to abjure their idea of a separate West German state and to accept Soviet leadership of all of Berlin. A crisis, though severe, lasted for almost a year.

1. The Berlin Airlift

The Berlin Airlift was the answer that the United States and its allies responded to the blockade. American and British cargo planes ran thousands of flights over the course of the blockade, first airlifting supplies into West Berlin — food, fuel, etc. — to sustain the huge quantities of people living there, and then hauling them back out once the West Berliners were no longer in need of them. This became a symbol of refusal to Soviet aggression.

2. Failed Soviet Strategy

Ultimately, the Berlin Blockade came to no conclusions. Rather than hardening the resolve of the Western powers it strengthened their resolve to defend the freedom of West Berlin. The Berlin Airlift was successfully carried out not only to supply Berlin and its people, but also establish the unity of the Western allies.

Use in the Cold War

The Berlin Blockade was an early point of the Cold War and was one of the the churning of the tensions between the East and the West.

1. Formation of NATO

This blockade, of course, led to the founding of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949. A defensive alliance against the Soviet threat that would maintain the collective security of NATO’s member states, NATO was formed. That served as a deterrent against another round of the Russia aggression in Europe.

2. Division of Germany

The failure of the blockade led to the formal division of Germany into two separate countries: Germany and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) The division furthered the Cold war tensions and solidified the separation between the Eastern Bloc led by Soviet Union and the Western powers.

3. Escalation of the Arms Race

The beginnings of an arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union came with the Berlin Blockade. In their desire not to lose power or to influence the other too much, both sides wanted to flex their muscles. The deck of this seemingly never ending fight led to the rise of nuclear weapons and an ever vigilant armed standing, intensifying the two superpowers relationship.

Conclusion

The Berlin Blockade was very much a turning point in the history of the Cold War. This roused the United States and its allies from its successful resistance to the blockade in Soviet aggression and defense of West Berlin. As a result of the blockade NATO was formed, Germany was divided and the arms race was only escalated further. The Berlin Blockade is a key marker in the exploration of Cold War complexity and its imprint on the global political mud, before and after the end of the war.