Crucial event of Cold War history is the Berlin Airlift, which took place in between June, 1948 and May, 1949. He gave it when Soviet Union attempted to encircle West Berlin with the hope of neutralizing the free parts of that city as a show of authority. Again, the United State and its allies devised an extraordinary air-lifting operation a process by which the West Berlin”].(4) In this blog post, we are going to reveal the history and implication about the Berlin Airlift, including its definition also, to let you know more about this event in the world.

1. Background

The Berlin Airlift took place during the time when Berlin was split in to two and trying times for the Allied powers and the Soviet Union. At the close of World War II, the nation was divided into four occupied zones where the United States, Great Britain, France, and the USSR held their authority. Like the state, the city of Berlin was also divided between the same four powers which were represented in the Soviet zone.

1.1 The Cause of the Blockade

The tension increased in 1948 when the three Western powers brought in a new currency known as the Deutsche Mark in their zones including West Berlin. Soviet Union viewed this move as a threat to its supremacy as it sought to demote the power of the said nation in the area. In turn the Soviet Union completely blockade the transportation to West Berlin through rail, road and water.

The consequences of the blockade for the population of West Berlin were painful. Meals, gasoline, and other requirements were acquired mainly from external sources of the city. Lacking all these necessities the situation turned out to be hopeless. This was a difficult question for the Western powers – they had to look for the means to address the peoples’ needs of West Berlin and defend their bastion.

2. The Berlin Airlift Operation

In response to the Soviet blockade of the access routes the United States and other Western powers started the Berlin Airlift. To achieve this goal, the United States and Great Britain launched an unprecedented operation of providing people of West Berlin with essentials through air drops avoiding the blockade.

2.1 Establishing the Airlift

The airlift operation on a large scale posed a great human effort; it needed proper planning and organization. Originally, the airlift utilised transport planes that were disembarking at Tempelhof Airport within the American zone of Berlin. The other airports that were also used for increasing the capacity were Gatow Airport in the British sector, and Tegel Airport in the French sector.

In February 1953, the airlift operation was still demanding smalls which comprised of food, coal, and medical essentials. To make these provisions, a fleet of transport aircrafts mostly C-54 Skymasters were used for transporting them. The planes would fly to Berlin to download their payloads and then immediately go back to their base to reload, to further continue the cycle.

2.2 The Challenges Faced

There were many problems in the context of the Berlin Airlift. The fact was that the scale of the operation was very large, new planes arrived in Berlin every few minutes. Limited number of airports and runways, including some logistical problems due to adverse weather conditions also contributed to the problem.

However, the airlift operation received a great many obstacles but it was turned into a symbol of stubbornness and hopes. Having been involved in the construction of bombing sites, pilots and ground crews had to give their best for this important mission regardless of weather conditions. The countries of the world sat by and watched this airlift go on month after month which fostered a lot of solidarity and hope.

3. The End of the Berlin Airlift

Get Facts: The Berlin Airlift was a continuous operation and it lasted for a year between June 1948 and May 1949. At that time, as many as 270558 flights provided transportation of up to 2,3 million t of goods to West Berlin. The airlift proved a life saver for the people in that it aided them to continue existing while in the fir line of the Soviet blockade.

When the international community began to learn how firmly the Western powers were set, how determined and steadfast was the population of West Berlin, the weight was shifted to the Soviet Union. Realizing that the blockade drive has not achieved the expected goal, the Soviet Union raised the blockade on May 12, 1949.

4. Significance and Legacy

This case has had many implications in the international relations and on the cold war. The u-s France and other western powers was to showcase that it was willing to protect democracy and fight the Soviet influence. That is, only by achieving a successful airlift operation that required not only lives but also an impact of the division between East and West as the division in Germany.

In addition, the Berlin Airlift was developed into a significant sign of unity as well as humanitarian trends in different parts of the world. Many positive cases it shown, it was sign of how far the international community was willing to go in order to preserve the values of democracy, freedom and human rights.

4.1 Lessons Learned

The Berlin Airlift also has lessons that can be learned throughout the world. That was underlining the point that there are always opportunities to resolve conflicts peacefully even if all indications point towards a non peaceful resolution. It also emphasized on the concept of international relations and the impact that collaborative efforts can create when work is being done for common causes.

4.2 These are Berlin Airlift Memorials

In order to honor the Berlin Airlift several memorials were put up in Berlin. The ‘Candy Bomber’ at Tempelhof Airport represent the American pilots, who dropped candies for the children throughout the airlift. Secondly, Tempelhof Airport in Berlin has a memorial to the Airlift itself and for people who want to learn more about it there is the Airlift Museum in the former Tempelhof Temple, now situated in Templehof Northwest Berlin.

5. Conclusion

The Berlin Airlift is another telling story of Cold War history. In her speech, it revealed the strength of will, kindness and people’s unity from all over the world. Through the analysis of the definition, history and importance of the Berlin Airlift this paper concludes that this event was instrumental in shaping the future of Germany and the world.

Berlin Airlift gives so many tips as to how to approach some problems in the contemporary world we live in. It always sets a reminder of the need to fight for justice and how amazing it is for many people to come together.