The Berlin Blockade: An Overview
The blockage up to Berlin in June 1948 to May 1949 played an important role during the early days of the cold war. Following the introduction of the new currency in the West the Soviet along with the East Germans thereafter besieged West Berlin cutting off most of its supplies from the outside world. The use of the blockade was to force the west to reconsider its decision of making a separate West Germany state.
The Failure of the Blockade
The Berlin Blockade ultimately failed due to several key reasons:
1. Airlift Operations
These measures caused the blockage of Qatar’s airspace and access to its only land border with Saudi Arabia, and prompted the Western powers – the United States and the United Kingdom – to launch an unprecedented operation of the airlift. This they decided to mobilize a big campaign to airlift food and other basic amenities to the people of West Berlin. This operation, known as the Berlin Airlift, was able to deliver all of the needful items such as food, fuel and medicals to the population of the city when it had been blockaded.
2. The identification of West Berliners
For the duration of the blockade the West Berliners displayed resourcefulness to an astounding degree. Nonetheless, they stand in rigorous scarcity and difficulties, assertively resisting the Soviet pressure. They did not allow the blockade to be successful since they possessed spirit of resistance plus perseverance.
3. International Support
During the blockade the world validated the western powers. People in the world’s propaganda to the Soviet Union and sympathized with the peoples of West Berlin. This diplomatic pressure also made the blockade much less effective, and the Soviet Union was unable to continue to sustain itself.
4. Breakthrough in Negotiations
Gradually the bargaining between the two superpowers, that is the Soviet Union and the west bloc, began to pay of. Eventually, both parties came to understand that they could not avoid the resolution of the crisis and as soon as May the blockade was lifted. This achievement in negotiations proved the ineffectiveness of the blockade in realisation of Soviet goals.
The Berlin Blockade and its signification
The failure of the Berlin Blockade had far-reaching implications:
1. Unity of East and West Germany
Although the blockade did not stop the creation of West Germany it made the division between East and West Germany permanent. This only deepened ideological political crisis between the East Soviet Union and the West and led to the division of Germany for the next 4 decades.
2. Rise of the Cold War
OLID: The Berlin Blockade or the Berlin Airlift as it was called formalized and intensified conflict between the Soviet Union and the western allies. This event together with other events during early Cold War led to the more profound division between the East and the West Bloc and in general escalation of the conflict. It considered as being one of the hallmarks of the Cold War era.
3. Military Technology of Manoeuvre Consensus on Humanitarian Intervention
The effectiveness of such a policy was confirmed during the Berlin Airlift as a powerful colossal humanitarian operation. What it did was to present how much more improved the aviation and logistic sectors particularly in that era and is was a benchmark of what was in stored for humanitarian causes and actions in the future. The Berlin Airlift assumed positive connotation, therefore became associated with hope and inter-population unity.
Conclusion
Unfortunately the plan did not succeed because the western allies did not give in, the people of West Berlin did not surrender and the international community did not stop supporting this city and finally the atmospheric change in negotiation brought a new turn to the cold war. This failing had major repercussions and within a few year’s Germany was split into East and West with the frosty Cold War getting even colder. As icon of hope and unity the Berlin Airlift will always be a rather unique chapter in history.
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