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What Was the Berlin Blockade?

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

The Berlin Blockade was an attempt by the Soviet Union to block Allied access to the German city of Berlin in 1948 and 1949. Ultimately, the blockade turned out to be a total political failure for the Soviet Union, and the West managed to turn it into a major victory. This event was one of the first major conflicts of the Cold War, and the lessons of it were kept in mind during future episodes of tension between the Soviet Union and the Western world.

After the Second World War, Germany was split up among the Allies, with the French, Americans, British, and Russians each controlling a section of the country. The city of Berlin was located in East Germany, the section controlled by the Soviet Union, but it was deemed so important politically that it was split into miniature administrative districts, ensuring that the Allies had a presence there.

A map of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union blockaded Berlin in 1948, leading to the Berlin Airlift.
A map of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union blockaded Berlin in 1948, leading to the Berlin Airlift.

Being surrounded by East Germany left the Western-occupied sections of Berlin very vulnerable, however. In June 1948, Allied efforts to produce a unified currency for West Germany triggered alarm in the Soviet Union, and officials decided to block all access to Berlin, in the hopes of forcing the Allies to give them more control of the city. Essentially, the Soviet Union planned to starve the city in order to coerce the West into capitulating.

A sign commemorating the Berlin Wall.
A sign commemorating the Berlin Wall.

When the Soviet Union announced the blockade, the West was forced to make a decision about how to deal with. Giving in to Russian demands was rejected as an option, and some consideration was given to invasion. Ultimately, officials decided that this would be too dangerous, and they seized upon the idea of simply waiting the blockade out.

For the citizens of Berlin, who only had a month of supplies available, this solution posed an obvious problem. The remedy turned out to be the Berlin Airlift, an ambitious plan to supply all of the fuel, food, and shelter needs of West Berlin by plane. At the peak of the airlift, planes were landing in Berlin every three minutes, and sometimes planes didn't even land, instead shoving out pallets of supplies and zooming out again.

Allied air support forced the Soviets to give up the Berlin Blockade.
Allied air support forced the Soviets to give up the Berlin Blockade.

In May 1949, the Russians realized that the Berlin Blockade had not worked as planned, and they lifted the restrictions. The Allies continued to use their established airspace to transport the majority of supplies into the city, as they did not want to become dependent on Soviet-controlled rails and roads. In 1961, frustrated with the use of West Berlin as a way-station for people leaving East Germany, the Soviet Union constructed the Berlin Wall, a massive barrier that bisected the city until 1989.

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a WiseGEEK researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a WiseGEEK researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

anon992098

It is really important to the Berlin people on the east side so they would not be in trouble with the other people on the west side. So they really used the airlift to pass food or stuff to the other side of Berlin.

Moldova

Icecream17-I think that is so sad. Many countries tried to help. I know that the Marshall Plan was drawn up General George Marshall and it was also called the European Recovery Program.

It offered economic assistance to the affected European nations that included Germany and the Eastern bloc countries that were all under Soviet control.

The Soviets forbade these countries from accepting aid. The Soviets then began regulating all shipments into Berlin which heightened the West Berlin blockade.

The Berlin Wall blockade was a result of the Soviets outnumbering the Allied forces and West Berlin running out of food and other supplies. In fact at the start of the blockage, West Berlin only had about 35 days worth of food.

icecream17

Stalin in the Soviet Union created the Berlin blockade from 1948 to 1949.

The blockade was lifted in 1949 which led to the splitting of Germany into two separate territories.

The German Democratic Republic was considered East Germany and it was run by the by the Socialist Party which unified the Communist Part of Germany along with the United Democratic Party.

Western Germany was referred to as the Federal Republic of Germany. The newly created territories of East and West Germany were a direct result of the continual pressure the Soviets put on the East Germany along with the ending of the Berlin blockade in 1949.

The Soviets removed infrastructure and skilled workers from Berlin in order to control it. In addition, the Soviets stopped supplying food to non-Soviet parts of Berlin which hurt the people of Berlin because the city was only able to produce 2% of its food necessities.

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    • A map of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union blockaded Berlin in 1948, leading to the Berlin Airlift.
      By: axellwolf
      A map of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union blockaded Berlin in 1948, leading to the Berlin Airlift.
    • A sign commemorating the Berlin Wall.
      By: York
      A sign commemorating the Berlin Wall.
    • Allied air support forced the Soviets to give up the Berlin Blockade.
      By: darknightsky
      Allied air support forced the Soviets to give up the Berlin Blockade.
    • A mural on the Berlin Wall.
      By: elxeneize
      A mural on the Berlin Wall.
    • The Berlin Blockade helped to spur the formation of NATO.
      By: Sylvana Rega
      The Berlin Blockade helped to spur the formation of NATO.
    • In 1961, Soviet tanks and US tanks found themselves in a standoff in Berlin.
      By: Alexey Kuznetsov
      In 1961, Soviet tanks and US tanks found themselves in a standoff in Berlin.