What were the causes, main events and consequences of the Berlin Blockade and Airlift in 1948-49?
– Primarily, the Berlin Blockade was an episode in the Cold War – Stalin was taking over eastern Europe by salami tactics, and America had just adopted the Truman Doctrine. Secondly, America and Russia had different Aims for Germany. Stalin wanted to destroy Germany, and was stripping East Germany of its wealth. Britain and America wanted to rebuild Germany’s industry – in January 1947, they joined their two zones together into Bizonia. On 31 March 1948, Congress voted for Marshall Aid. Stalin (rightly) saw this as an attempt to undermine Russian influence in eastern Europe. The Russians started stopping and searching all road and rail traffic into Berlin. Finally, on 23 June Britain and America introduced a new currency into Bizonia. The next day the Russians stopped all road and rail traffic into Berlin. The Americans thought Stalin was trying to force them out of Berlin. Stalin claimed the new currency was an attempt to wreck the East German economy. The main cause of the Berlin Blo
The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War and the first such crisis that resulted in casualties. During the multinational occupation of post-World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies’ railway and road access to the sectors of Berlin under their control. Their aim was to force the western powers to allow the Soviet zone to start supplying Berlin with food and fuel, thereby giving the Soviets practical control over the entire city. In response, the Western Allies organized the Berlin Airlift to carry supplies to the people in West Berlin. The over 4,000 tons per day required by Berlin during the airlift totaled, for example, over ten times the volume that the encircled German 6th Army required six years earlier at the Battle of Stalingrad. The United States Air Force, Royal Air Force, and other Commonwealth nations flew over 200,000 flights providing 13,000 tons of food daily to Berlin in an op
