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History > Berlin Blockade and Airlift > Flashcards

Berlin Blockade and Airlift Flashcards

1
Q

Where was Berlin located?

A

Deep inside the Soviet zone

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2
Q

By 1948, what were relations like between the West and the USSR?

A

Not good - high levels of distrust had developed between the two sides.

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3
Q

What had both sides started to do by 1948?

A

Increase their stockpiles of weapons

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4
Q

What type of war had developed by 1948?

A

A propaganda war - with each side denouncing (criticising) the other

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5
Q

What did Stalin fear about Germany?

A

That if it recovered it could once again threaten the USSR

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6
Q

Why did the West want Germany to recover - at least partly?

A

So it could feed its own people

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7
Q

What did Stalin want to do to Germany?

A

Keep it crippled

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8
Q

What did Britain, France and the USA do in March 1948?

A

Joined their zones together to form Trizonia

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9
Q

What did the West introduce into Trizonia in June 1948?

A

A single currency, which would help Germany recover economically

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10
Q

How did Stalin view Trizonia and the new currency?

A

With suspicion. He felt the West was ganging up on him and saw their actions as procacative

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11
Q

What was the new currency called?

A

The Deutsche Mark

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12
Q

What did Stalin to in response to the introduction of the new currency (the Deutsche Mark)?

A

Blocked western access to Berlin by blocking all the roads, railways and canals

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13
Q

What was Stalin’s aim in Berlin?

A

To try and force the West out of Berlin for good

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14
Q

Why did Stalin not like the Allies being in Berlin?

A

The Allied sectors of Berlin were more prosperous, making capitalism look more attractive than communism

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15
Q

How many people lived in West Berlin?

A

About 2 million

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16
Q

Why was the Blockade a clever plan?

A

If the Americans tried to break the blockade with force, Stalin could accuse them of starting a war

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17
Q

How did the USA see West Berlin once it was blockaded?

A

As a test case. If they did not stand up to Stalin now, then he might gain in confidence (as Hitler had done in the 1930s)

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18
Q

What did Truman want to prove with Berlin?

A

That he was serious about his new policy of containment

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19
Q

How did the Allies respond to the Blockade?

A

With the Berlin Airlift

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20
Q

What were people in Berlin initially worried about with the Airlift?

A

That the Soviets would shoot down the planes - thus starting a war

21
Q

At its peak, how often were planes landing?

A

Three every minute

22
Q

What did the planes bring to West Berlin?

A

Vital supplies: food, clothing, oil, coal

23
Q

Was life good for Berliners during the Airlift?

A

No - many left - but it was just about survivable

24
Q

When did Stalin lift the Blockade?

A

In May 1949

25
Q

What did the Airlift show?

A

That the Allies would not abandon Berlin

26
Q

Why was the Berlin Blockade such a point of high tension?

A

It was the first point when the two superpowers came close to war

27
Q

How many tonnes of supplies were delivered in total?

A

1 and a half million tonnes

28
Q

Why was the Airlift a huge propaganda victory for the West?

A

The Americans were heroes who had brought food, clothing and hope to West Berliners

The USSR looked cruel and callous, trying to starve the Berliners.

29
Q

What happened to Germany following the Berlin Blockade?

A

It became permanently divided into West Germany and East Germany

30
Q

When was West Germany formed?

A

In May 1949 - the month the blockade ended

31
Q

When was East Germany formed?

A

In October 1949

32
Q

What was West Germany also known as?

A

The Federal Republic of Germany (FRG - similar to President FDR)

33
Q

What was East Germany known as?

A

The German Democratic Republic (ironic, as it was not very democratic)

34
Q

Why was Berlin symbolic?

A

It was symbolic of the cold war. Americans saw West Berlin as a democratic oasis in the middle of Communist repression.

The USSR saw it as an invasive cancer growing in the workers’ paradise of East Germany

35
Q

How is the Berlin Blockade/Airlift also sometimes known?

A

As the first Berlin crisis

36
Q

What did the Blockade reveal about the Cold War?

A

Neither side was willing to go directly to war with the other
Both sides were not highly suspicious of each other, and would try and win support through propaganda

37
Q

What did the West form during the Berlin crisis?

A

NATO

38
Q

What does NATO stand for?

A

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

39
Q

When was NATO formed?

A

April 1949 (a month before the blockade was lifted)

40
Q

What was NATO?

A

A military alliance

41
Q

Why was NATO significant?

A

All the countries in NATO promised to defend each other if one of them was attacked. It thus increased the chance of all out war.

42
Q

How did the USSR initially react to the formation of NATO?

A

It criticised its formation, saying it made peace harder to achieve

43
Q

When did West Germany join NATO?

A

In 1955

44
Q

When West Germany joined NATO in 1955, what did the USSR do?

A

It created its own military alliance, called the Warsaw Pact

45
Q

What was the name of the Soviet military alliance?

A

The Warsaw Pact

46
Q

Why was the formation of NATO and the Warsaw Pact significant?

A
  • It meant the world was now divided into two military alliances
  • A small conflict could potentially escalate into a far larger one
47
Q

What did the USSR acquire in 1949?

A

The atomic bomb - to the shock of the world

48
Q

Why was America’s involvement in NATO significant?

A

It was the first time it had committed itself to defending western Europe during peacetime. This shows how severe the Americans believed the threat of Communism to be.

49
Q

What key positive consequence could you argue the Berlin Blockade had?

A

It ended peacefully - another war was averted

History (36 decks)

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