The event that marked the period of Cold War was the Berlin Blockade. It was a Soviet effort aimed at closing off West Berlin, a divided city in East Germany. Instead, the Western Allies began the Berlin Airlift – a historical humanitarian operation to provide Berlin with supplies it needed. In this blog post, you will learn about the Berlin Blockade Airlift including history, major highlights, and consequences.
The Background
Following World War II, Germany was divided into four zones that were controlled by the Allied powers: the floater originated from the United States, Soviet Union Britain and France. Like the entire country, the city of Berlin was divided into four sectors, and it was located deep within East Germany. Cold War went on and relations between Soviet Union and the western Allies grew tense.
Finally in the year 1948 the soviet unions planned to cut off the western Allies power over West Berlin by sealing off routes of access through Road, Railway and Canals to the city. The purpose was to compel the Western Allies to evacuate their outpost in West Berlin. This blockade made history under the name of the Berlin Blockade.
The Berlin Airlift
The Western Allies retaliated with the Berlin Airlift which started on June 26th 1948. The airlift was to transport food and other essential commodities by air to West Berlin, circumventing the blockade thrown up by the Soviets. It soon turned into an enormous supply chain management effort.
Key Events
In the Berlin Airlift, planes of the USA, Britain, France and other countries flown more than 280 thousand supplies’ flights. These flights landed at the three main airfields in West Berlin: Tempelhof, Gatow, and Tegel. The airlift persisted for almost one year until the 27 September 1949 when the Soviet Union gave up on the blockade.
Statistics Numbers
Total Flights Over 280,000
Total Supplies Delivered Over 2.3 million tons
Average Daily Flights 500
Approximately 1,
Impact and Significance
If as the Berlin Airlift was a remarkable success and therefore meant the determination of the Western Allies to fight for the rights and well being of the people in West Berlin. It revealed the efficiency of the western democracy against soviet expansionism.
Furthermore, the airlift built up the relationship of sympathy between West Berliner inhabitants and Western Allies. It supplied the requirements to feed the population of the city and laid the foundation for the next formation of NATO, an organization that aimed at fighting the Soviets.
In Conclusion
The Berlin Airlift was a significant event that helped to shape history, specifically early years of the Cold War, and demonstrated the capacity of the Western Allies in their confrontation with the Soviet Union. It showed them as defending the freedom and the interest of the population in West Berlin. Despite the Soviet blockade the Western Allies managed to fly supplies to West Berlin and therefore stand up to the Soviet threat.
Thus, when the blockade was lifted, people calm down with no elimination of the schism between East and West Germany. The episode of Berlin Airlift is a symbol of Global democracy, of the spirit of people of uniting for a greater cause against the syndrom of totalitarianism.