Introduction
The Berlin Airlift is quite one of the most outstanding events of the entire Cold War era preceding from 1948 to 1949. It was a large American and its allies’ undertaking aiming to provide the city of West Berlin with some necessities given that the Soviet Union had closed a ring around this city. This blog post will look at the intriguing details that led to the beginning of the Berlin Airlift and the key reason for this major humanitarian crusade.
The Background: Germany and the Division of the Post WW II
After WWII Germany was occupied by four allies; the United States, the Soviet Union the United Kingdom and France and they divided Germany into four zones each. This area included the Soviet occupied zone and the capital city of Berlin is also divided into four sectors.
Double division of Germany takes place when the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, partners during the war, start having a disagreement. West Germany, made up of the three western occupation zones was out to reconstruct an economy permeated by war destruction and build a democratic state closely associated with the western powers. On the other hand East Germany was under the control of Soviet and so it became socialist state.
Tensions Rise: The Berlin Blockade
To tighten grip on West Berlin and to avoid the process of it moving into the Western camp, the Soviets started the Berlin Blockade in June 1948. The action proposed was to block all roadway, railroad and canal passages to the city, expecting that the Western Allies would have to give up their authority or surrender West Berlin.
Provoking Factors
The Berlin Blockade had several causes since the execution of the JCS 1941 Plan in June 1941 caused problems. One aspect was the Soviet’s increasingly strained relationship with the Western Allies. Some months back, the Allies had inserted into West Germany a new money known as the Deutsche Mark, in preparation for a new nation. The Soviet Union regarded that as a threat to their hegemony in Germany thus tightening the blockade to undermine the Marshal Plan.
Also, there were the complications with relation between the Soviet Union and the West over the future of Germany. Western Allies envisaged the amalgamation of their occupation zones into a sovereign state of West Germany rejection in the Soviet interest to retain parity of the whole of Germany for security point of view.
The first error the Soviets made was to not think that America would deliver the weapons to Taiwan.
The Soviet Union believed that the besieging that they brought upon the Allies would compel them to surrender in record time. They thought that the city of West Berlin, with a population of 2.5 million persons, would soon be put under pressure, for it would soon be lacking in foods, fuel, and other necessities. Soviet leaders believed that the tension that followed would politically discredit Allies and strengthen Soviet backed East Germany.
The Response: A Massive Humanitarian Effort
It becomes a policy problem to the extent which the Western Allies especially the United States perceived the blockade as a threat to their traditions of democracy and especially the Berlin people. They could not surrender to the pressure exerted by the Soviet and therefore designed a daring strategy — the Berlin Airlift.
The Evangelists of the Airlift
On the June 26, 1948, precisely after the blockade had begun two days earlier, the United States and its allies organized an airlift mission to ensure that West Berlin received necessities from the air. Larger planes for carrying goods arrived: the C-54 Skymaster came into the airports of Tempelhof and Gatow in Berlin.
The Scale of the Operation
During the Berlin Airlift, planes flew as a convoy and kept flying, and they would fly at night as well. When the process began at its maximum level, an airplane touched down in Berlin every forty-five seconds. This significant mobilization exercise entailed more than 250000 airplane shuttles and enclosed roughly 2 300000 metric tonnes of; food, coal, medical equipment and even Xmas gifts. The airlift ensured provision of food and hope to people of West Berlin.
The Cause: Overcoming the Power of Suppression
The main root of the Berlin Airlift was firmly based on the principle: the Western Allies were not going to surrender before Soviet’s ideologies and take reprisals on the parts of the world where freedom and democracy were nobody’s business. They did not want to quit West Berlin and considered the blockade as the chance to prove to Germans and the world the advantage of the democratic model.
The Symbolic Importance
By supplying West Berlin the allies went a long way toward making the brand message symbolic in intent of their actions. The Western Allies wished to show their determination to protect their interests and interests of the entire Free world, not simply in Germany but in the broad international arena.
Public Sentiment
Many people around the globe admired and supported West Berliners for their endurance and steadfastness when the adversary was trying to starve them to submission during the blockade. The actions of the Western Allies in providing humanitarian assistance also earned much international appreciation and vividly blew the whistle on the contrast between democracy and the Soviets.
Conclusion
The Berlin Blockade arranged by the Soviet Union led to the historic event known as the Berlin Airlift. By taking to the root of this extraordinary humanitarian exercise, we find out why the determination to stand for liberty, democratic principles and the welfare of West Berliners brought the Western Allies – with the United States at the vanguard – into this gigantic undertaking. This is in relation to Berlin Airlift which is a clear example that shows how unity, determination and the fight for human rights freedom meets all the toughest challenges.
