Berlin Blockade

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Berlin Blockade

Causes

  • West Berlin was beginning to recover due to Marshall Aid in 1947 and Stalin saw this as a threat to Communism in his sector of Germany
  • The Allies had begun to rebuild Germany. By 1948 the UK, USA and French  had joined together to create Trizonia
  • In 1948 the Western allies announced that they were going to introduce a new currency, the Deutschmark, to kick start the economy again

Effects

  • On 24th June 1948 Stalin closed all roads, canals and railways between West Germany and West Berlin to starve the West Berliners and force the allies to abandon West Berlin
  • Duringthe blockade electricity supplies were cut in the western half of the city and shops in the East were stocked with food and supplies, but only 2%of the West fled to the East
  • The USA began to fly in supplies to West Berlin. By Spring 1949, 8000 tons a day were being flown in with a flight landing every 3 minutes
  • Stalin called off the blockade on the 12th May 1949 when he realised the allies would not give in

Overall summary

-The end of the blockade ended any ill feeling between the western powers and the defeated Germans in the west.-The blockade had demonstrated a complete breakdown of the war time alliance. The west realised that Stalin would not keep the promises made at Potsdam-The west had shown how far it was prepared to go to resist Communism and made the allies determined to build up West Berlin into a showcase for capitalism from 1949-The blockade had threatened war and so in 1949 the western powers formed NATO, a defensive military alliance against attack from the East-In September 1949 West Germany became an independent state called the Federal Republic of Germany. In October 1949 East Germany became the German Democratic Republic. Any hope of a united Germany ended.

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