1.8 - Berlin Blockade

Question 1

When was the blockade introduced?

Answer 1

June 2nd 1948

Question 2

What was the significance of the starting date of the blockade?

Answer 2

The day following the introduction of the Deutschmark

Question 3

What did the blockade do?

Answer 3

Blocked all road and rail links to the Western zones and to West Berlin through the Soviet Zone

Question 4

What was the USSR’s argument for the blockade?

Answer 4

Defensive measure to stop the Soviet zone being swamped with the devalued Reichsmark, which the new Deutschmark was replacing in West Germany and West Berlin

Question 5

Who was the prime mover in response to the blockade and what was his argument?

Answer 5

Ernest Bevin
- Allies should not use force to access West Berlin but instead it should just be supplied with essentials

Question 6

Who was the US military governor and what was his argument?

Answer 6

General Clay
- Wanted an armed convoy to force its way through to West Berlin

Question 7

What was Bevin’s plan and what did he convince the allies?

Answer 7

West Berlin could be supplied by an airlift made possible by aircraft flying along the three ‘corridors’ or flight paths, allocated to the Western allies by the Soviets in 1945

Question 8

What was Bevin’s reaction to Clay’s proposal?

Answer 8

Rejected by Bevin as this could have easily provoked the Soviets into violence

Question 9

How many days worth of food and fuel did West Berlin have at the time of the blockade?

Answer 9

36 days of food
62 days of fuel

Question 10

What was the initial impact of the blockade on West Berlin?

Answer 10

• Road and rail links cut
• Supply of electricity from East to West cut

Question 11

When was the first flight of the airlift?

Answer 11

June 26th 1948

Question 12

In the first few weeks of blockade how many flights a day and tons of aid?

Answer 12

1300 flights and 1000 tons

Question 13

How many tons were needed on a daily basis for the winter?

Answer 13

5000

Question 14

When were the Moscow talks?

Answer 14

2 August 1948

Question 15

Who attended the Moscow talks?

Answer 15

Three western powers ambassadors and Stalin

Question 16

What were the events at the Moscow Talks

Answer 16

• Western powers would not reverse creation of Western state
• However they were ready to agree to the circulation of the Otsmark in the whole of Berlin (if 4 powers all had control)
• Stalin wanted total control of currency

Question 17

Outcome of Moscow talks - Why Stalin disagreed?

Answer 17

• Talks broke down on 7th September as neither side would give way
• As the Soviets were convinced the airlift to West Berlin would not be sustained during the winter

Question 18

What amount of tonnage was being transported by April 1949?

Answer 18

8000

Question 19

What happened in Feb 1949 regarding Deutschmark and exports?

Answer 19

• Western powers declared the Deutschmark the only legal currency in West Berlin
• Stopped all Western exports to the Soviet zone which increased pressure on the zone’s economy

Question 20

What did Stalin indicate on 31 January 1949?

Answer 20

Indicated he would lift the blockade depending on whether there was another meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers

Question 21

What agreement was made between Foreign ministers and Stalin in May 1949?

Answer 21

• End the blockade on May 12th
• Agreement that another meeting should take place to discuss future of Germany and Berlin currency (However no agreement until 1971)

Question 22

When did Stalin agree to end the blockade?

Answer 22

12th May 1949

Question 23

Was FRG East or West?

Answer 23

West

Question 24

Was GDR east or west?

Answer 24

East

Question 25

When was the constitution for the FRG drawn up and who was the first leader?

Answer 25

1949
- Konrad Adenauer

Question 26

When was the constitution for the GDR drawn up?

Answer 26

• March 1949

Question 27

What was the state of Berlin by November 1948?

Answer 27

• Germans in West Berlin set up their own government with anti-communist majority due to threats
• Britain, USA and France permitted West Berlin to send representatives to sit in the West German parliament in Bonn but as the city was legally under Four-Power Control they had no voting rights

Question 28

How does NATO show a change in foreign policy?

Answer 28

From isolationism to globalism
- Sought to have the power to influence events on a global scale to act as a global superpower.

Question 29

Who joined the alliance system in 1949 against the USSR?

Answer 29

France

Question 30

When was NATO founded?

Answer 30

4 April 1949

Question 31

How many founding members (some examples) and what was its aim?

Answer 31

12 (UK, France, US etc)
- Settle international disputes in a peaceful manner
- Attack against one = attack against all

Question 32

What was the USSR’s response to NATO?

Answer 32

• Soviets thought NATO was an aggressive organisation designed to pressurise states into complying with the interests of UK, US and their allies.
• Emphasise it had no intent to attack any state in Europe.