The+Berlin+Blockade



The city of Berlin became a centerpiece of the Cold War, playing a particularly significant role in Europe. East met West in this divided city where the Berlin wall was a tangible symbol of the "Iron Curtain." After World War II, Germany was divided into four occupation zones administered by four nations: the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. Furthermore, Berlin, located in the Soviet occupation zone which was to become East Germany, was itself similarly divided into four sectors. Communism was instituted in the area controlled by the U.S.S.R. while the governments in the three remaining areas were modeled after the political systems of the West.

The open border between the Soviet sector and the Western controlled sectors in Berlin allowed hundreds of thousands of East Europeans to escape Soviet rule and persecution. Not only did this have a negative impact upon the economies of East Europe, but it served as a political embarrassment for the Soviet Union.

The three Western powers and the the U.S.S.R. were in conflict over the future political structure of Germany. The Western nations began to carry out their plans, which included a common currency for the three zones and three sectors controlled by them, in 1948. The Soviet Union objected to their plans for a common currency and threatened to blockade Berlin if they did not yield. The four nations were unable to resolve the issue, so on June 24, 1948, the Soviet Union stopped all shipments to Berlin from West Germany and cut off electricity to the three Western sectors of Berlin, leaving about 2.5 million people without future supplies and without power.

The Berlin blockade lasted 320 days as Great Britain and the United States supplied up to 13,000 tons of food, fuel, and other items daily in an airlift codenamed "Operation Vittles" to the West Berlin. A total of 200,000 flights were made and a total of 1.5 million tons in supplies were delivered. Finally, the blockade ended on May 12, 1949 and the Soviet Union gave in to Western plans.

An uprising occurred in East Germany in 1953 which culminated in a general strike on June 17, 1953 to protest the lowering of wages and the lack of significant political and economic changes. Tens of thousands of workers went on strike and there were large demonstrations. This uprising, however, was swiftly put down by Soviet troops.

The border between East and West Germany began to close with the placement of barbed wire and machine-gun nests. Yet the Berlin border remained open until 1961 due to an agreement of 1949. In its continued use as an escape route, an estimated 2,750,000 East Europeans crossed over into Western territory, despite East Germany's attempts at regulation.

On August 12, 1961, the decision was made by the East German government to close the Berlin border. The next day, just minutes after midnight, East German troops erected barbed wire barricades and roadblocks.

This move came as a surprise to the West. To lessen criticism, East Germany still permitted some movement between the two halves of Berlin. Meanwhile, construction of the Berlin wall begun on August 17. Initially, it was six feet tall with barbed wire atop it along most of its length, but it was quickly rebuilt and reinforced. Guard dogs, machine-gun nests, flood lights, and observation towers were added. The Soviet Union later agreed to not block traffic to West Berlin through East Germany. From 1961 to 1981, there were 37,800 cases where people successfully traversed the Berlin wall from the East to the West. There were over one-hundred killed in attempts to climb over it.

The Berlin border reopened in November 1989, followed nearly a year later by the reunification of Germany on October 3, 1990.

source: [|Librarythinkquest]

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 * The Berlin Blockade**


 * Task**: Read the [|memorandum]  to President Truman on June 30, 1948 from the United States Central Intelligence Agency following the Soviet blockade of Berlin noting important details about United States national security interests at the time and the rhetoric used. Read only the first three pages of the document.

**Document Analysis**
 * 1) What type of document is this? What is its purpose?
 * 2) When was it written? Why is that significant?
 * 3) Who created the document? Who received the document?
 * 4) Who is Marshal Sokolovsky?
 * 5) How did the CIA get information of the meeting between Marshal Sokolovsky and German members of the German industrial committee?
 * 6) What were the three Soviet alternatives as they presented themselves when this document was written? What policy did the Soviets pursue over the course of the next nine months? Why?

Resources: [|Telegram] from A Paniushkin, Soviet ambassador to the US, setting out the Soviet position US State Dept. [|memorandum] giving the US position

=Summation:=

The Marshall Plan reflected the strength of the US economy and offered huge sums to enable the war shattered economies of Europe to rebuild and, by generating prosperity, to reject the appeal of Communism, Czechoslovakia showed interest in receiving Marshall Aid but was blocked by Russia.

The Soviet system was as much dependent upon creating a self-contained economic bloc as it was in maintaining a repressive political system.

West Berlin, as an outpost of Western democracy and economic success deep within the Communist zone, **//was both a nest of spies for both sides and a constant challenge to the Soviets.//**

The Berlin Blockade was an attempt to starve the city into submission and the Allied airlift signaled the West’s determination to use all resources to defend Berlin.

Thereafter, it was accepted by both sides that Berlin would act as the trigger for general war. Any Russian invasion would be followed by conflict with the considerable Allied forces camped permanently on the plain of West Germany. Both sides finding Europe too dangerous a site for confrontation, looked elsewhere to compete.

= **Cold War Berlin in Popular Culture** =

**Cold War Spies became part of the entertainment culture of the era. Here, Sir Michael Caine stares as Harry Palmer, cold war spy, in a series of fairly gritty spy films. Since the film was made in 1966, another interesting strain of cold war era culture is represented in the Palmer character being a working class (hear the accent), more anti-establishment character who lacks trust in his own government. This nod to the developing ethos of the counter-culture (i.e. Hippies, war protests, “don’t trust anyone over 30”) of the 1960’s becomes more common in popular, cold war era films. Many of you probably know the influence of Harry Palmer as one of the models for Mike Myers Austin Powers character.**

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Interesting ruins of [|West Berlin Spy Station]

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