The Berlin Airlift, 1948 (Edexcel GCSE History)

The Berlin Airlift, 1948 - Summary

Economic differences between the capitalist West and the communist East prompted the countries of the USA, Britain and France to join their zones together to create Trizonia. Stalin and the Soviet Union saw this as the West's attempts to weaken the Soviet zone in Germany. This was made worse by the creation of a new label goes here called the Deutschmark, which all but split Germany in two.

In June 1948, the Soviet Union shut off the land routes in Soviet-controlled Germany, preventing Trizonia from accessing their zone in Berlin. Without supplies from Trizonia, people in West Berlin would run out of food and important resources.

The Western allies responded by flying supplies directly into West Berlin in an event known as the Berlin Airlift. For almost a year, the Soviet Union could only watch as thousands of supplies made their way into West Berlin. 

By the end of the Airlift in September 1949, Cold War tensions had rapidly increased, leading to several significant events such as the formation of East and West Germany, and the creation of NATO and the Warsaw Pact

What was the Berlin Airlift?

• In June 1948, the Soviet Union shut off the two main land routes into East Germany, preventing the West from accessing their zone in Berlin

• Without the support of the West, the Western-occupied zone in Berlin would quickly run out of food, fuel and medical supplies

• The West risked war if they attempted to ignore the closed land routes and move supplies over land

• Doing nothing would most likely lead to the Western-occupied Zone in Berlin being handed over to the Soviet Union

• The West decided to fly supplies into Berlin, knowing that the Soviet Union themselves would be risking war if they shot any planes down

• From June 1948 to May 1949, the West flew supplies into West Berlin in what was known as Operation Vittles (the codename) or the Berlin Airlift:

What happened during the Berlin Airlift?

The Impact of the Berlin Crisis

• Stalin could not stop the Berlin Airlift because shooting down airplanes carrying supplies would lead to war

• The longer the airlift went on, the more humiliating it became for the Soviet Union

• On 9 May 1949, the Soviet Union lifted the Berlin Blockade

• The Western Allies continued to fly in supplies until 30 September 1949 so that West Berlin would be supplied in the event of a future blockade

• The Berlin Airlift was a massive victory for the West over the East, but this created even greater tension between the two ‘superpowers’

• A number of key events happened partly as a result of the Berlin Crisis

What was the impact of the Berlin Crisis?