1949 : BERLIN BLOCKADE LIFTED:
On May 12, 1949, an early crisis of the Cold War comes to an end when
the Soviet Union lifts its 11-month blockade against West Berlin. The
blockade had been broken by a massive U.S.-British airlift of vital
supplies to West Berlin's two million citizens.
At the end of World War II, Germany was divided into four sectors
administered by the four major Allied powers: the USSR, the United
States, Britain, and France. Berlin, the German capital, was likewise
divided into four sectors, even though it was located deep within the
Soviet sector of eastern Germany. The future of Germany and Berlin was
a major sticking point in postwar treaty talks, especially after the
United States, Britain, and France sought to unite their occupation
zones into a single economic zone. In March 1948, the Soviet Union
quit the Allied Control Council governing occupied Germany over this
issue. In May, the three Western powers agreed to the imminent
formation of West Germany, a nation that would exist entirely
independent of Soviet-occupied eastern Germany. The three western
sectors of Berlin were united as West Berlin, which was to be under
the administration of West Germany.
On June 20, as a major step toward the establishment of a West German
government, the Western powers introduced a new Deutsche mark currency
in West Germany and West Berlin. The Soviets condemned this move as an
attack on the East German currency and on June 24 began a blockade of
all rail, road, and water communications between Berlin and the West.
The four-power administration of Berlin had ceased with the
unification of West Berlin, the Soviets said, and the Western powers
no longer had a right to be there. With West Berlin's food, fuel, and
other necessities cut off, the Soviets reasoned, it would soon have to
submit to Communist control.
Britain and the United States responded by initiating the largest
airlift in history, flying 278,288 relief missions to the city during
the next 14 months, resulting in the delivery of 2,326,406 tons of
supplies. As the Soviets had cut off power to West Berlin, coal
accounted for over two-thirds of the material delivered. In the
opposite direction, return flights transported West Berlin's
industrial exports to the West. Flights were made around the clock,
and at the height of the Berlin airlift, in April 1949, planes were
landing in the city every minute. Tensions were high during the
airlift, and three groups of U.S. strategic bombers were sent as
reinforcements to Britain while the Soviet army presence in eastern
Germany increased dramatically. The Soviets made no major effort to
disrupt the airlift. As a countermeasure against the Soviet blockade,
the Western powers also launched a trade embargo against eastern
Germany and other Soviet bloc countries.
On May 12, 1949, the Soviets abandoned the blockade, and the first
British and American convoys drove though 110 miles of Soviet Germany
to reach West Berlin. On May 23, the Federal Republic of Germany (West
Germany) was formally established. On October 7, the German Democratic
Republic, a Communist state, was proclaimed in East Germany. The
Berlin airlift continued until September 30, in an effort to build up
a year's supply of essential goods for West Berlin in the event of
another Soviet blockade. Another blockade did not occur, but Cold War
tensions over Berlin remained high, culminating in the construction of
the Berlin Wall in 1961.
With the gradual waning of Soviet power in the late 1980s, the
Communist Party in East Germany began to lose its grip on power. Tens
of thousands of East Germans began to flee the nation, and by late
1989 the Berlin Wall started to come down. Shortly thereafter, talks
between East and West German officials, joined by officials from the
United States, Great Britain, France, and the USSR, began to explore
the possibility of reunification, which was achieved on October 3,
1990. Two months following reunification, all-German elections took
place and Helmut Kohl became the first chancellor of the reunified
Germany. Although this action came more than a year before the
dissolution of the Soviet Union, for many observers the reunification
of Germany effectively marked the end of the Cold War.
history.com/tdih.do
On May 12, 1949, an early crisis of the Cold War comes to an end when
the Soviet Union lifts its 11-month blockade against West Berlin. The
blockade had been broken by a massive U.S.-British airlift of vital
supplies to West Berlin's two million citizens.
At the end of World War II, Germany was divided into four sectors
administered by the four major Allied powers: the USSR, the United
States, Britain, and France. Berlin, the German capital, was likewise
divided into four sectors, even though it was located deep within the
Soviet sector of eastern Germany. The future of Germany and Berlin was
a major sticking point in postwar treaty talks, especially after the
United States, Britain, and France sought to unite their occupation
zones into a single economic zone. In March 1948, the Soviet Union
quit the Allied Control Council governing occupied Germany over this
issue. In May, the three Western powers agreed to the imminent
formation of West Germany, a nation that would exist entirely
independent of Soviet-occupied eastern Germany. The three western
sectors of Berlin were united as West Berlin, which was to be under
the administration of West Germany.
On June 20, as a major step toward the establishment of a West German
government, the Western powers introduced a new Deutsche mark currency
in West Germany and West Berlin. The Soviets condemned this move as an
attack on the East German currency and on June 24 began a blockade of
all rail, road, and water communications between Berlin and the West.
The four-power administration of Berlin had ceased with the
unification of West Berlin, the Soviets said, and the Western powers
no longer had a right to be there. With West Berlin's food, fuel, and
other necessities cut off, the Soviets reasoned, it would soon have to
submit to Communist control.
Britain and the United States responded by initiating the largest
airlift in history, flying 278,288 relief missions to the city during
the next 14 months, resulting in the delivery of 2,326,406 tons of
supplies. As the Soviets had cut off power to West Berlin, coal
accounted for over two-thirds of the material delivered. In the
opposite direction, return flights transported West Berlin's
industrial exports to the West. Flights were made around the clock,
and at the height of the Berlin airlift, in April 1949, planes were
landing in the city every minute. Tensions were high during the
airlift, and three groups of U.S. strategic bombers were sent as
reinforcements to Britain while the Soviet army presence in eastern
Germany increased dramatically. The Soviets made no major effort to
disrupt the airlift. As a countermeasure against the Soviet blockade,
the Western powers also launched a trade embargo against eastern
Germany and other Soviet bloc countries.
On May 12, 1949, the Soviets abandoned the blockade, and the first
British and American convoys drove though 110 miles of Soviet Germany
to reach West Berlin. On May 23, the Federal Republic of Germany (West
Germany) was formally established. On October 7, the German Democratic
Republic, a Communist state, was proclaimed in East Germany. The
Berlin airlift continued until September 30, in an effort to build up
a year's supply of essential goods for West Berlin in the event of
another Soviet blockade. Another blockade did not occur, but Cold War
tensions over Berlin remained high, culminating in the construction of
the Berlin Wall in 1961.
With the gradual waning of Soviet power in the late 1980s, the
Communist Party in East Germany began to lose its grip on power. Tens
of thousands of East Germans began to flee the nation, and by late
1989 the Berlin Wall started to come down. Shortly thereafter, talks
between East and West German officials, joined by officials from the
United States, Great Britain, France, and the USSR, began to explore
the possibility of reunification, which was achieved on October 3,
1990. Two months following reunification, all-German elections took
place and Helmut Kohl became the first chancellor of the reunified
Germany. Although this action came more than a year before the
dissolution of the Soviet Union, for many observers the reunification
of Germany effectively marked the end of the Cold War.
history.com/tdih.do
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