{"id":982,"date":"2017-11-04T14:12:57","date_gmt":"2017-11-04T14:12:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/?page_id=982"},"modified":"2026-05-08T11:00:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T11:00:11","slug":"berlin-airlift","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/world-history\/cold-war-1945-1972\/berlin-airlift\/","title":{"rendered":"Berlin Airlift"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Berlin Blockade and subsequent airlift took place in 1948. It was a western response to a Soviet decision to cut off ground based transportation routes between the West and Berlin through Soviet controlled eastern Germany.\u00a0 The blockade presented West Berlin with a major resourcing crisis. It also sparked fears among the Western powers as to the next steps that may be taken by Soviet forces.<\/p>\n

The Berlin Blockade\/Airlift<\/h2>\n

On 23 June 1948 all road, rail and canal links between West Berlin and West Germany were closed by the Soviet occupying force. The Soviet aim was to force the West to withdraw from the city by reducing it to starvation point. Many Germans had lost their homes, the refugee crisis in Berlin<\/a> was problematic, this caused chaos. Berlin had only food and fuel enough for six weeks.<\/p>\n

The western powers, convinced that a retreat from West Berlin would be the prelude to a Russian attack on West Germany, were determined to hold on. General Clay, the American commander in Berlin, predicted that:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Berlin falls, Western Germany will be next. If we withdraw our position in Berlin, Europe is threatened … Communism will run rampant.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Berlin Airlift<\/h3>\n

The West, therefore, decided to fly supplies into the city along the three air corridors permitted to the allies. They gambled that the Russians would not risk the outbreak of war by shooting the planes down. Despite several very close shaves, they were right. Over the next ten months 2 million tons of supplies were airlifted to the blockaded city in a remarkable operation that kept over 2 million West Berliners from starvation. Only in May 1949 did the Russians<\/a> admit failure by lifting the Blockade, but by then there was no question that the old wartime alliance was over and the Cold War<\/a> had begun.<\/p>\n

\"Berlin<\/a><\/p>\n

Consequences of the Berlin Blockade<\/h3>\n

The consequences of the Berlin blockade were far reaching and were to dominate European politics for the next forty years. Pesident Truman was under no illusion that the Blockade had been a test of strength, designed by Stalin to see whether the West would resist and whether the USA would stand behind the Truman doctrine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Blockade certainly resulted in the final collapse of the wartime alliance and cooperation between the West and the Soviet Union. The \u2018Iron Curtain\u2019 that Churchill had seen descending across Europe in 1946 became ever more of a reality as both East and West endeavoured to secure their positions in Europe. Even so, it is also important to note that armed conflict did not result from the Blockade. The conflict was more of a struggle of will between the two sides, neither of which was prepared to risk direct military confrontation with the other. This was to set another pattern that was to last in Europe until the great upheavals of 1989<\/a>. It was also a necessity since the Russians in late August 1949 exploded their own atomic bomb, much earlier than anyone had anticipated. East-West relations entered a new, and even more deadly phase.<\/p>\n

Brussels Defence Treaty and NATO<\/h3>\n

In many ways the most important consequence of the Blockade was the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)<\/a> in April 1949. The Blockade had demonstrated the West\u2019s military unreadiness and frightened them into making definite preparations. Already in March 1948 Britain, France, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg had signed the Brussels Defence Treaty promising military collaboration in the event of war. Now they were joined by the USA, Canada, Portugal, Denmark, Ireland, Italy and Norway. All signed the North Atlantic Treaty, agreeing to regard an attack on one of them as an attack on them all and placing their defence forces under a joint NATO command structure. This was a highly significant development because it marked the abandonment of isolationism by the United States.<\/p>\n

Creation of East and West Germany<\/h3>\n

Finally, after the collapse of the Blockade, two separate German states<\/a> came into being. Since there was no prospect of the Russians allowing a united and \u2018free\u2019 Germany to be created, the western powers went ahead alone and set up the Federal Republic of Germany. The Russians replied by establishing their own German state, the German Democratic Republic. In response to Marshall Aid, the Russians set up their own programme known as COMECON<\/a> (Council of Mutual Economic Aid) under which Stalin was able to link the economies of all Russia\u2019s satellites and influence their economies for the benefit of the Soviet Union. Each satellite produced what Stalin wanted it to, so that Poland, for example, concentrated on coal and steel. Finally in 1955 the Warsaw Pact was established after West Germany was admitted to NATO. The Pact was a military alliance between Russia and her satellites, but in practice it was more of a gesture against West German membership of NATO as there was already no doubt about the Soviet\u2019s influence and control over the armed forces of her satellites. Problems surrounding Berlin did not go away. It led eventually to the construction of the Berlin Wall<\/a> when Khruschchev challenged President Kennedy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In brief then, the main consequences of the Berlin Blockade were:<\/p>\n

* Deterioration of East-West relations to their worst point since 1945, escalating the early stages of the Cold War<\/a>.
\n* Psychological boost for the western powers (having succeeded in defending Berlin)
\n* The formation of NATO and the coordination of the West\u2019s defences
\n* Division of Germany: the establishment of the German Federal Republic in August 1949 and the German Democratic Republic in September 1949
\n* Long-term commitment of the USA to the protection of Europe: military garrisons in NATO countries<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cold War<\/a><\/p>\n

Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam Conferences<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Stalin and Truman: ideological differences<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Soviet Satellite States<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Cominform and Comecon<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0US Involvement in Europe Post WW2<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Truman Doctrine<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Marshall Plan<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Bizonia<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Berlin Airlift<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0NATO: Origins and History<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0The arms race and Mutually assured destruction<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Soviet rule in Hungary<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Destalinization<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Hungarian Revolution<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Berlin: Refugee Crisis<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Khruschev\u2019s challenge to the west over Berlin<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a01960: Paris Summit<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Kennedy and the Berlin Crisis<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Berlin Wall<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0President Kennedy visit to Berlin<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Cuban Missile Crisis: Why were missiles there?<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Cuban Missile Crisis: Why did Kennedy respond as he did?<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Cuban Missile Crisis: Resolution and analysis<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Vietnam War<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Berlin Blockade and subsequent airlift took place in 1948. It was a western response to a Soviet decision to cut off ground based transportation routes between the West and Berlin through Soviet controlled eastern Germany.\u00a0 The blockade presented West Berlin with a major resourcing crisis. It also sparked fears among the Western powers as… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1487,"parent":148,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"off","neve_meta_content_width":100,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-982","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t