The Cold War and the Divided City

After World War II, the world entered another turbulents stage of human history which was called Cold War. Soviet Union and United States or two pole stars came to the forefront to rule over the world. When tensions raised In the middle of the conflict the capital city of Germany was Berlin.

At the end of the war, Germany was divided into four occupational zones: Americanotype, British, French, and Soviet. Likewise, Berlin, located far in the Soviet occupied territory fell into the zonal division despite being in the territory of East Germany.

The area of Berlin that was controlled by the Western powers developed into a symbol of freedom and significantly improved economic status in a very short while. On the economic side it experienced growth, politically it was stable and the degree of affluence improved considerably. This contrast between West Berlin and East Berlin/East Germany functioned under the Soviet sphere made it worse between the two systems.

To develop an understanding of the history of the Berlin blockade it is necessary to underline that this action started with the trial of Dresden conducted by the British.

Having observed an influx of the west’s powers into the city of Berlin, the Soviet Union acted on the signals. The Soviet Union placed the city of West Berlin under siege by sealing all road, rail and canal connections on June 24, 1948. This move was because West Germany has adopted a new currency which was tallied additional to the Soviet reunification agenda under their metros.

Their goal of the blockade was to starve the people of West Berlin into submission to force the western powers to leave the city. All necessary products such as food, fuel, and other necessities were no longer being delivered. However, the Soviets overlooked one crucial factor: the fact of the Western powers and their desire to remain in West Berlin as a free city an independent part of West Germany.

The Berlin Airlift: S contribute to a Striking Humanitarian Mission

Faced with the blockade, the Western powers, led by the United States, devised a daring and unprecedented response: the Berlin Airlift. From June, 1948 to May, 1949 West Berlin was receiving from Western aircraft all it needed for existence.

It remained a major undertaking of logistics to conduct the airlift. Airlifts, mostly employing US and UK cargo planes, took off on round-the-clock sorties distributing many of thousands of tons of supplies to West Berlin. Tempelhof Airport in Berlin known throughout the world played the role of a control center: planes landed and took off every few minutes.

The following humanitari an effort was not merely about existence it symbolized something significant. West Berlin was now supplied and the western powers were not willing to fold to the soviet blockade and their desire to prevent free West Berlin. Such operation received much attention internationally pointing to the determination of the Western powers against Soviet influence.

Countering the Blockade

The fact that the Berlin airlift was a success was part and partly because efficiency and innovation were paramount. The selected articles have pointed out that the Western powers brought in new tactics including the ‘candy bomber’. Camp Garmisch: forces which prevented the reestablishment of Camp Dance American pilot Gail Halvorsen, following his meeting with children in West Berlin, started dropping candy parachutes. This act of kindness did much in a way to rally the people and was a gesture by the Western alliance to the people of West Berlin.

Also during the one period, the operation increased the capacity of this business. More planes were used and a second airport, Tegel, was begun to handle the steadily rising transport of supplies. The logistic team arranged complex shifts in order to receive planes in or get rid of cargo all time round.

In conclusion, the Berlin Airlift was a success mission, for the US and Great Britain. West Berliners got all their needs to live our basic lives and the Soviet Union later realized that the blockade did not work out. In May 1949, they removed the blockade and this as was considered as a major triumph of the western countries.

It is important to understand that importance was somewhere behind the Berlin Blockade.

The Berlin blockade you could say was a critical point in the very early beginnings of the Cold war. It deepened the cleavage between East and west Germany while magnifying the gap between two political regimes. The successful Western counteraction to the blockade showed spirited and unyielding determination of the USA and other countries.

In turn, the Berlin Airlift had a major influence upon the perception of the Soviet Union around the world. The humanitarian operation demonstrated the desire of the Western states to humanize people and support freedom and democracy. What was its significance? It solidified people of West Berlin to the West and probably acted as a rallying point against Soviet brutalities.

The Legacy

However, the blockade was lifted leaving the larger question of the partition of Germany unanswered. The Cold War persisted, and Berlin remained the hotspot for a few years, or, more precisely, several decades. Germany for example only got reunified in 1990 after the wall, known as Berlin Wall, had been brought down.

The Berlin Blockade and also the subsequent airlift were of course incidents that marked a historical epoch. He pointed out that the strength of spirit, and the abilities of nations to defend their line of honorable conduct were unyielding. The message from this episode still holds on the need to be alert, to work together and protect freedom from the enemies within and outside.

Conclusion

Soviet allowed the blockade of West Berlin in 1948 for various reasons highlighted as follows; ideological incompatabilities, political motivated, and the Soviet fear of the influence of the West. However, the blockade failed to appreciate the determination of the Western powers and resulted in the miraculous Berlin Airlift, a humanitarian operation that not only kept West Berlin alive but also provided the citizens with hope and determined stand against Soviet tyranny.