The Berlin Airlift was a Cold War event in history. West Berlin was cut off from the rest of the world by a Soviet blockade, and it was a massive humanitarian and logistical effort to bring supplies to those people. In this blog post, we will learn about the background, importance, and key facts about Berlin Airlift.
The Background
Following World War II, Germany was divided into four occupation zones, occupied by the United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain and France. In addition to 25 other territories, the capital city of Berlin, that lay deep within the Soviet zone was also divided into four sectors. The Cold War started as tensions began to rise between the Soviet Union and Western Allies.
In 1948, Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union blockaded West Berlin. Their aim was to force the Western Allies to stop trying to make a separate West German state. The blockade cut off all rail, road and waterway access to West Berlin, where two million people live, and prevented them from importing essential supplies.
The Response
Facing the Western Allies was a difficult choice. First, they could back down and abandon West Berlin, or second, they could figure out some other way to supply the people. And they opted for the latter and brought about the Berlin Airlift.
The Airlift Operation
Transportation of supplies — particularly food, fuel and other necessities — by air was the subject of the Berlin Airlift. The operation started June 26, 1948, and continued almost a year, until September 30, 1949.
Tempelhof airport in West Berlin and Gatow airport in the British sector were the two main airport used for the airlift. The Allies put together a huge armada of cargo planes — C-47s and C-54s mostly — that flew around the clock, without stop, to deliver supplies into West Berlin.
In the midst of the airlift, a plane would land in West Berlin every 30 seconds. A complex traffic control system was put into place so that the planes would be able to quickly land and take off.
The Impact
The Berlin Airlift was a great logistical exercise. During the airlift, nearly 277,000 flights were flown transporting nearly 2.3 million tons of supplies. That way the people of West Berlin did not suffer from food shortages, or other important supply disruptions.
Additionally, the Berlin Airlift was a demonstration of the Western Allies’ willingness to withstand Soviet aggression and ensure that democracy and the right to freedom prevailed. It showed the United States, Great Britain and France united, to take adversity head on.
The End of the Airlift
On May 12, 1949 the blockade ended as the Soviet Union lifted the blockade. The airlift was partly successful, and the more pressing pressure was that the blockade was not getting the result desired.
After the blockade ended the airlift continued for several months to build up a supply stockpile in West Berlin.
Conclusion
And that was the Berlin Airlift. More than that, it also demonstrated how strong the Western allies where, and provided much needed supplies to the people of West Berlin. It was an act of power hope, unity and the triumph of democracy over tyranny.
Today, the Berlin Airlift is remembered as a humanitarian and logistical feat in which united nations embarked upon and showed the world that working together you can overcome adversity.