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How Did the Berlin Airlift Lead to the Cold War?

by | Mar 7, 2024 | World War Tour Berlin

 

The Berlin Airlift was an important part of the not yet peaceful history of early Cold War; the time when the United States and the Soviet Union were tense with one another. We’ll look at how the Berlin Airlift was pivotal in driving this global conflict.

 

The Background: Post-World War II

After World War II, Germany was divided into four military zones controlled by the Allied powers: Among them were the countries of the United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom and France. Its capital, Berlin, however, was also divided, although it lay inside the Soviet controlled zone.

 

The Berlin Blockade

In 1948, the Soviet Union sealed off all routes to East Berlin from West Berlin, the city under Allied control in the East. The Berlin Blockade was this action.

 

The Soviets stopped the electricity and supply the city of West Berlin needed to feed the 2.5 million of its inhabitants, in order to bribe the Allies to leave the city. However, this caused a crisis which almost blacked out West Berlin.

 

The Berlin Airlift Begins

In the Berlin Blockade, in response, the United States and other Allied powers launched the Berlin Airlift to resupply West Berlin with food, fuel and other necessities.

 

In that airlift, thousands of cargo planes flew around the clock, supplying him. Their cargo would be delivered into West Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport and other airfields via flights into these planes. Air corridors agreed to by the Allies and the Soviet Union aided their aircraft.

 

Berlin Airlift Significance

The Berlin Airlift had several significant impacts:

 

Demonstration of Allied resolve: Showing determination and a commitment on behalf of the Allies to protect theirs interests and support the people of Berlin was the Berlin airlift.

Symbol of the Cold War: But the Berlin Airlift became such a potent symbol of the longstanding struggle between East and West, as well as democracy and communism.

Strengthening of NATO: The Berlin Airlift emphasized the need for West-made collective security agreement, and the consequent formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) against such a threat as the Soviet one.

Soviet retreat: Against the same pressure, the international, the Soviet Union lifted the blockade in 1949. It was viewed, however, as a major political win for the United States and its Allies.

Berlin Airlift: Lessons Learned

The Berlin Airlift gave us some very useful lessons on perseverance, determination, alliance strength. Furthermore, this helped to make the point, that military conflict was likely avoidable through diplomatic efforts.

 

In addition, the Berlin Airlift made clear that Berlin as a potential flashpoint for the Cold War was very important. Future confrontations between the two superpowers were set on the stage when Germany was divided and West Berlin its Western enclave in Russian occupied zone.

 

Conclusion

The Berlin Airlift was a major episode in U.S. -Soviet Cold War ideology dispute in the early 1940s. Moreover, it showed the Western Allies’ strength, determination and the need for diplomacy and collective security in meeting Soviet aggression. The Berlin Airlift’s success, one offshoot of which was the establishment of techniques to feed an enemy, set a precedent for what may come.

 

How Did the Berlin Airlift Lead to the Cold War?