Another important occurrence in the Cold War was the Berlin Airlift that started starting from June, 1948 to September, 1949. It was a great challenge of the western allies to bring in food stuffs, fuel and other basic needs to the people living in West Berlin who were encased by the eastern bloc of Germany lead by Soviet. It is now time to consider why the event so important during this period of Cold War history was known as the Berlin Airlift.
1. Context of the Cold War
Cold War means the state of political and military rivalry between the United States and Soviet Union and the allied states. It was marked by political struggle, military preparements and nuclear confrontation. This conflict then made Berlin, the capital of Germany to be the society most affected. It was after the World War II when Germany split into east and west regions that tension emerged.
1.1 Division of Germany
After the Second World War Germany was divided into four areas occupied by the United States of America, USSR, Great Britain, and France. Berlin which lies well and truly within Soviet dominated territory is also divided into four sectors. While there were political goals for Reunification and a Democratic Germany for the Western Allies; communism and hence the Soviet System was to be installed in the Soviet zone.
2. The Soviet Blockade
As a result of the western allies planning to put into operation a new currency in their sectors of the city, the Soviet Union put a blockade on West Berlin on June 24 1948. This they did by blocking all road and rail connections and besieging the city waterways. This blockade was meant to make the western allies reconsider what they were doing and leave West Berlin.
2.1 Isolating West Berlin
The Soviet blockade was a real danger to the citizens of West Berlin. They starved because they could not be provided with supplies to sustain them, they lacked fuels, they had health complications. Soviet Union anticipated that these problems would cause the isolation of West Berlin which will force the western Allies to turn their back from the area.
3. The Berlin Airlift Begins
With the Soviets surrounding and thus blocking West Berlin they responded with a Berlin Airlift. It was a huge human and operational exercise to transport food and all the requisite into West Berlin to sustain both the city and the people. It started from 26 June 1948 when American and British planes taking off the German Air fields carrying food supplies.
3.1 Air Corridors and Airdrops
In order not to pass through the Soviet-controlled territory, the western allies had to open air lift from West Germany to West Berlin. These pathways enabled airplanes to move about optimally, guaranteeing that the flow of needed commodities continued incessantly. First, they tried to parachuted food and other necessities into the city while later, creating airstrips to be able to land at the new Tempelhof and Gatow airports.
4. Humanitarian Success and Attention to the World
The Berlin Airlift became synonymous to democracy and resolved, and humanitarian aid. West was committed to improving the lives of the people of West Berlin to guarantee their existence. The operation indeed became a sort of PR coup for the Allies with people across the world putting attention on the contrast between holding democratic elections and living in communism.
4.1 Strength in Numbers
A great number of flights were in the Berlin Airlift. Planes were at one time touching down in West Berlin every 90 seconds flying in more than 4,500 tons of supplies each day. The western allies proved their interest in the people and they had no intention of leaving West Berlin to be dominated by the soviets.
5. Breaking the Soviet Blockade
Finally, the Berlin Airlift somehow ended the Soviet blockade. Finally in May 1949; after the western sides made their point that the blockade is ineffective and more importantly the airlift a logistic success the Soviets lifted the restrictions on access to West Berlin. This victory proved that Western Allies were capable of countering the threat of Soviet Union and preserving freedom and prosperity of West Berlin.
5.1 Symbolic Significance
The Airlift represented the readiness to stand up to the Soviet threat to rollback communism and to protect liberty, freedom and democracy when threatened. It also supported the separation of the two halves of the continent and raised awareness of the suffering of those under communism. The successful conclusion of the airlift became a turning point that seemed to stiffen the Western Allies’ determination to confront the Soviet power during the Cold War.
6. Legacy and Lessons
The Berlin Airlift was a remarkable affair with much to teach future generations.
6.1 Legacy of Cooperation
Berlin Airlift demonstrated that the main enemy of the free world can be defeated with the enormous powerful united front. While people slept, the United States, Britain and their allies cooperated effortlessly to save a city and its residents, and set the stage for the next sixty years of cooperation.
6.2 Lessons on Preparedness
It would however be useful to pause and reflect on the lessons the Berlin Airlift offered on preparedness and what plans Military might have to offer as contingencies. The Western Allies succeeded in planning to have stockpiles and bringing out such an elaborate plan to ensure West Berlin survived the blockade.
6.3 Proof of Determination
Such event as the Berlin Airlift proved not only the dedication of the Western Allies to defending the principles of freedom, but also the populations of Western Germany. They stated something to the world about their ability to endure Soviet pressures, which was important during the Cold War era.
Conclusion
The Berlin Airlift can rightly be considered one of the major events in the history of the Cold War. It depicted the gallantry, tenacity and the supremacy of the western allies in defending the freedom and welfare of west Berlin. The Berlin Airlift, which was an act of liberating West Berlin from the Soviet blockade; can be summed up in simple words as hope, cooperation and success.
