WESTERN CURRENCY REFORM & BLOCKADE Flashcards
What happened at the Council of Foreign Ministers in London? When was it?
Nov/Dec 1947.
Relations between east and west became increasingly fractured and broke up without reaching any agreement.
Why did the Allied Control Council collapse?
When the Soviet delegation walked out of the meeting after Western allies refused to share details of their West German state.
What did the Soviets do in response to the London conferences?
Increasingly began restricting access to Western sectors of Berlin.
When did the ACC collapse?
March 1947
When was crisis point reached in 1948?
When the British and Americans replaced the Reichsmark with the Deutschmark.
What did the Soviets refuse in 1948?
To consider any possibility of currency reform sponsored by the West.
When was Trizonia formed?
June 1948
When was the Deutschmark introduced in the three western zones?
20th June 1948.
What was the main cause of the Berlin Blockade?
The currency reform.
What was the first great Cold War crisis? When?
The Berlin Blockade.
Began 24th June 1948.
What was the West’s most vulnerable position?
Access to West Berlin.
What did the introduction of currency reform precipitate?
A full scale blockade, beginning on 24th June 1948.
What can the blockade be explained as?
A retaliatory action on the part of the Soviet Union.
What did the Soviets regard currency reform as?
A virtual commitment to divide Germany, and also an attempt to wreck the East German economy.
What did the Soviets intend to do through the Berlin Blockade?
Force the Western Powers into renewed negotiations over the future of Germany.
How can the blockade be perceived by a western standpoint?
An attempt to force an Allied withdrawal from Berlin, which would’ve brought the whole of Berlin under communism.
What can the blockade be seen as a last attempt at by the Soviets?
To regain political initiative.
What can the Berlin airlift be seen as a symbol of?
America’s determination to contain Soviet expansionism.
What was the Berlin Airlift?
An immense logistical operation achieving a level of supply the Soviets had believed impossible.
Over the eleven month period, how many flights were made?
277,000
At the height of the Berlin Airlift, how many aircrafts were landing in Berlin?
One every minute.
When did the Soviet Union cease the Blockade?
12th May 1949.
What was the most concrete outcome of the blockade?
Creation of two separate German states.
What else did the blockade confirm?
The superpower Cold War conflict.
