We welcome you to our/info about historical event as Berlin Blockade and Airlift. In this article we will look at the background, causes, and consequences of this historic moment.
Background
In the aftermath of World War II, Germany was divided into four occupation zones controlled by the Allied powers: Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union, and the United States. Like Berlin, the city of Berlin was divided into four zones—and it was in Soviet controlled East Germany.
The Berlin Blockade
In 1948 ideological differences that were growing between the Soviet Union and the Western Allies and conflicting visions for Germany was beginning to create a head of steam. In trying to force the Western Allies out of West Berlin, on June 24, 1948 the Soviet Union imposed a blockade of West Berlin cutting off all land and water access to the city.
Its intent was to starve West Berlin economically and politically isolate it from the Western powers. For the Soviet Union, this would bring capitalism in West Berlin to its knees and bring the city firmly under communist control.
The Western Response
In order to supply the population of West Berlin, the United States lead the Western Allies in a plan called the Berlin Airlift. It was an operation of flying supplies into West Berlin on a massive fleet of cargo aircraft.
The airlifters were able to land at the Western controlled sectors airfields in Berlin — Tegel Airport, Tempelhof Airport, and Gatow Airfield. The city’s lifelines were these airports, to and through which supplies, including food, fuel and other necessary goods, were brought.
The Success of the Airlift
The Berlin Airlift was a great logistical miracle. The Western Allies were able to keep the West Berlin population in being, so that the blockade did not become a humanitarian disaster. The operation involved round the clock flights and it delivered more than 2.3 million tons of supplies in its period.
Moreover, the Airlift symbolizes hope, a symbol of survival for those of the West Berlin people. They flew missions to West Berlin, which became known as the Airlift, and as part of the Airlift they became known as the ‘Candy Bombers’, sometimes dropping candy and small toys to West Berlin children.
The End of the Blockade
On 12 May 1949, the Soviet Union lifted the blockade of the Western Allies. This was a key victory for the United States and its allies, who had apparently broken Soviet efforts to gain control of West Berlin by economic and political means.
Consequences
The Berlin Blockade and Airlift had a very wide impact. It fixed the East and now West Germany and made the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). The event also helped to cement the division of the Western Allies from the Soviet Union and led the way to the Cold War.
In addition, the Berlin Airlift showed the U.S. to support its interests and those of its allies worldwide. This early in the Cold War, the event signaled an early turning of American will to confront and win the battle against Soviet aggression.
Conclusion
The Berlin Blockade and Airlift is an important chapter in the history of 20th century and speaks of the politics of the time. Not only was it successful in giving the isolated population of West Berlin vital supplies, that very operation demonstrated the resolve and determination of the Western powers in the unwelcome face of adversity.
It is by learning of the Berlin Blockade and Airlift in the context of the Cold War in its entirety what we learn about the complexities of our own ‘Axis of Evil’, the Cold War, and the lengths people and nations would go to in order to protect their interests and ideologies. The resilience of the human spirit and the potency of collective action are all reminders of this event.