Rising Tensions in the Cold War - The Berlin Blockade and Airlift

Question 1

What was the Berlin Blockade?

Answer 1

The USSR closed all road, rail and river transport links into West Berlin. This stopped all supplies getting into the city. British, French and US troops were asked to leave.

Question 2

When was the Berlin Blockade?

Answer 2

The Berlin Blockade started in June 1948 and ended in May 1949.

Question 3

What caused the Berlin Blockade?

Answer 3

• The growing tension between the USA and the USSR over the future of Germany and their ideological differences and the start of the Cold War.
• In January 1947 the British and USA joined their zones, creating ‘Bizonia’. This broke the agreements made at the Potsdam Conference. In March 1948, France’s zone joined Bizonia to create ‘Trizonia’.
• In December 1947, at the London Conference, Britain, France and the USA met to discuss Germany and decide Germany’s new constitution. The USSR was not included.
• The USSR left the Allied Control Commission, accusing the West of breaking the Potsdam agreements. They were angry the London Conference had taken place.
• In April 1948, Trizonia started to receive Marshall Aid and began to rebuild.
• Britain, France and the USA introduced a new ‘safe’ currency, the Deutschmark, into Trizonia on 23rd June, 1948, which angered the USSR.

Question 4

What were the consequences of the Berlin Blockade?

Answer 4

• It prevented supplies reaching West Berlin.
• It led to the Berlin Airlift from June 1948 to May 1949, in which the Western powers used airplanes to fly supplies into West Berlin.
• The relationship between the USSR and the West deteriorated, eventually leading to the creation of NATO.

Question 5

What was the significance of the Berlin Blockade?

Answer 5

• The West saw it as an act of aggression by Stalin.
• It created the first major crisis between the USA and the USSR in the Cold War.

Question 6

What did the western powers do in response to the Berlin Blockade?

Answer 6

Western powers responded to the blockade of West Berlin by organising an airlift. Supplies were flown into West Berlin every day.

Question 7

When was the Berlin Airlift?

Answer 7

The Berlin Airlift saw supplies flown into Berlin every day from 26th June, 1948, to 12th May, 1949.

Question 8

Why did the Berlin Airlift happen?

Answer 8

• The West did not want to be forced out of West Berlin because Stalin would be able to take over.
• The USA wanted to contain communism, as promised in the Truman Doctrine.
• It was a way to get around the blockade without starting a war.

Question 9

What happened during the Berlin Airlift?

Answer 9

• Britain, France and the USA flew in supplies of food, medicine and fuel throughout the Blockade.
• By the end of the Blockade, approximately 8,000 tonnes of supplies were being flown in every day.
• A new airport called Berlin-Tegel was built, along with a new runway at Berlin-Tempelhof, to cope with the number of planes flying in supplies.

Question 10

What were the consequences of the Berlin Airlift?

Answer 10

• Two Germanies were created; The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) in May 1949 and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) in October 1949.
• It led to the USA creating a military alliance called NATO in April 1949.
• Europe was even more divided: politically (capitalism versus communism), economically (Marshall Aid versus Comecon), and now militarily.
• The balance of power became more unstable when the USSR conducted its first successful atomic bomb test in August 1949.