The Berlin Airlift, which was the Berlin Airlift, ran from June 1948 to May 1949, was a major event in early Cold War. Joined later were humanitarian and strategic responses to the Soviet Union’s blockade of West Berlin. An examination of the Berlin Airlift, however, actually provides insight into the intensification of Cold War tensions.

The Berlin Airlift Background

After World War II, Germany was divided into four occupation zones controlled by the Allied Powers: the Soviet Union, Great Britain and France, and the United States. The city of Berlin spread into four sectors, too, one being a city within the Soviet zone. By 1948 tensions between the Allied Powers and the Soviet Union had heated up until the Soviet blockade of West Berlin, which East Germany was supporting, began.

The Effects of the Blockade

The siege was a Soviet attempt to cut off and encircle West Berlin, under the allied control of the western Allies. It cut off all road, rail and canal traffic to and from West Berlin and West Germany so the city was left dependent on air transport for its existence. The West Berlin economic stability and the ability of West Berlin politics to make a safe life for its people were being crippled by this blockade.

The Allied Response

In response the Western Allies decided to respond with massive airlift operation to supply West Berlin. Operation Vittles was a later renamed Operation Plainfare, a project to fly in food, fuel, other essential supplies to the city. To show that it would support and protect their people, the United States and its allies continued with round the clock flights.

Meaning for Cold War Tensions

The Berlin Airlift had several important implications for Cold War tensions:

• Soviet Loss of Prestige: However, the real story from the airlift was that it was a demonstration of Soviet failure in the goal to isolate West Berlin. Blockade thus undermined the credibility and authority of that Soviet government which had portrayed the blockade as the effective means of asserting control.
• Strength of the Western Alliance: Together, the Western Allies united through the force of the United States, Great Britain and France. The wearing of a Purple Heart during this early years of Cold War symbolized commitments to protect democracy and freedom.
• Divisions between East and West: The Berlin Airlift widened further the fissure between the East and West. It cemented that divide between Soviet dominated East Germany and democratic west. The airlift helped in the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany in West Germany, and in turn, oversaw further creeping harden of the Cold War.

The End of the Airlift

In May, 1949 the Berlin Airlift ended when the Soviet Union lifted the blockade. Soviets forced to rethink approach as operation was successful, causing them to realize the conflict of holding a blockade to no avail.

The Berlin Airlift: Legacy

Berlin Airlift is still an example of courage, determination and the idea of cooperation in bad times. It showed how humanitarian aid as well as international diplomacy could be used in resolving conflicts.

Conclusion

The Cold War would never have been the Cold War it was without the Berlin Airlift. Not only did it thread the needles of West Berlin isolation, Soviet ineptitude, and Western solidarity and unity, but it was dead smack in the face of NATO unity and strength. The airlift legacy reflects those who people and nations have endured through adversity.