The Berlin blockade was one of the important milestones on the young at the start of the Cold War. It was between mid 1948 and mid 1949 when the Soviets imposed a lock down on West Berlin which was under western allied occupation, escalating to a very complex logistical problem. Analyzing the causes of the blockade as well as its outcomes it is possible to claim that this event played an important role in development of the tension and divided between the East and the West during the cold war period.

Background: The Division of Germany

In the aftermath of World War II, Germany was divided among the four occupying powers or; zones of control, which included U.S.A, Soviet Union, Great Britain and France. Although situated deep within the Soviet-occupied Zone, Berlin’s divided into four sectors including the capital city. Based on the internal tensions of the occupying powers ideologies the relationships of the occupying powers with the occupied countries declined rapidly and the cold war was initiated.

The Reason for the Berlin Blockade

The primary reason Soviet Union constructed the Berlin Blockade was to demonstrate power and establish dominance, over the post Second World War Germany. Consideration of the economic dominance of the Western Allies which started to issue the Deutschmark in their occupied zones including West Berlin raised considerable alarm to the Soviet Union. They believed that, as the West Germany recovered economically and politically and grew more assertive, it may pose some threats to the others and be the Goliath rivalling on the side of the West.

The Blockade Begins

Severing West Berlin’s access external sources, on June 24, 1948, the Soviet Union led by Joseph Stalin blocked all the overland and water supply ways. This was done in an effort to pressure economically the Western Allies into giving up their pushes for a West German state.

The after-effects of Berlin Blockade

The implications of the Berlin Blockade were very severe to that extent all the allies of the Soviet Union were affected and the Soviet Union as well.

The Berlin Airlift

When the blockade began the western allies began what was called the Berlin Airlift, which can hardly be described as anything but a logistical marvel. Non-stop,the American planes flew in day and night to deliver foodstuff, coal and other essentials to West Berlin. The airlift continued for almost a year and for this period, western powers managed to ensure the supplies of more than two million tones of supplies.

Strengthening of Western Ties

The Berlin Blockade forced the United State, Great Britain and France together and was to result in the forming of the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949. This treaty in 1949 created the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which was an unfortunate military cooperative whose old-fashioned purpose was to prevent the Soviets from spreading themselves and to provide mutual protection.

Division of Germany

It further cemented the division between East and West Germany and was one of the reasons, perhaps the major reason the East Germans built the wall. Thus gradually the Western Allies founded in 1949 The Federal Republic of Germany known as West Germany. In response the Soviet formed the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) in the same year.

Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan

The Berlin Blockade intensified cold war through straining the relations between the Soviet Union and the Western Allies. It signified the height of cold war where the struggle between communism and capitalist started getting sharper and clearer. The blockade single out the adversarial idealogical conflict and the battle for supremacy of these two Superpowers.

Conclusion

One of the most important reasons for the current escalation of the conflict during the Cold War is attributed to the Berlin Blockade. Indeed it demonstrated the Western power’s resolve to counter Soviet expansions and protect freedom. Such cried an effect to the Western union and make of the possible division of Germany. Studying them helps a reader to comprehend a period of human history and causal effects of the blockade on the world’s political relations.