Cold War
The Berlin Airlift, 1948–1949. At the end of the Second World War, U.S., British, and Soviet military forces divided and occupied Germany. Also divided into occupation zones, Berlin was located far inside Soviet-controlled eastern Germany. Berlin airlift, 1948–49, supply of vital necessities to West Berlin by air transport primarily under U.S. auspices. It was initiated in response to a land and water blockade of the city that had been instituted by the Soviet Union in the hope that the Allies would be forced to abandon West Berlin. The main cause of the Berlin Blockade was the Cold War, which was just getting started. Stalin was taking over eastern Europe by salami tactics and Czechoslovakia had just turned Communist (March 1948). On the other side, the USA had just adopted the Truman Doctrine to contain the USSR. The Berlin Blockade was an attempt in 1948 by the Soviet Union to limit the ability of France, Great Britain and the United States to travel to their sectors of Berlin, which lay within Russian-occupied East Germany. U.S. begins Berlin Airlift. On this day in 1948, U.S. and British pilots begin delivering food and supplies by airplane to Berlin after the city is isolated by a Soviet Union blockade. When World War II ended in 1945, defeated Germany was divided into Soviet, American, British and French zones of occupation. The Berlin Blockade was just another event in this Cold War between the superpowers. The second reason for the Berlin Blockade was that the USA and the USSR had different Aims for what they wanted to do to Germany. The USSR had already disagreed with Britain and the USA at Potsdam (July 1945) about this. Primarily, the Berlin Blockade was an episode in the Cold War Stalin was taking over eastern Europe by salami tactics, and America had just adopted the Truman Doctrine. Secondly, America and Russia had different Aims for Germany. Stalin wanted to destroy Germany, and was stripping East Germany of its wealth. Successful effort by the United States and Britain to ship by air 2.3 million tons of supplies to the residents of the Western-controlled sectors of Berlin from June 1948 to May 1949, in response to a Soviet blockade of all land and canal routes to the divided city.   .
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/berlin-airlift http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/history/berlin-airlift.html http://www.johndclare.net/EC3.htm http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/berlin-blockade http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/berlin-airlift-begins http://www.johndclare.net/EC3.htm http://www.johndclare.net/EC3.htm https://quizlet.com/20626106/berlin-blockadeairlift-flash-cards/
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