Berlin+Airlift+and+Berlin+Wall

= //__The Berlin Airlift__ and __The Berlin Wall__// =

__Overview of the Berlin Airlift__ On June 18, 1948, tensions between the eastern and western sectors of the divided Berlin, Germany began to arise. The western side consisted of the United States, Great Britain, and France while the eastern side was solely the Soviet Union. Political and economic issues caused Berlin, as well as Germany itself, to crumble as a country. The Soviet Union wanted Berlin all to itself so, it cut off all forms of transportation going in and out of the city. Though, Allied airplanes were still able to fly overhead allowing crews to deliver much needed food and supplies to the millions of stranded Berliners. Eventually, the Soviets would see that their plan to take full control over Berlin would not be as successful as they thought.

  __Tensions Lead to a Breaking Point__ After World War II had ended, peaceful meetings at Yalta and Potsdam lead Germany to be split up into two sections: the western side occupied by the United States, Great Britain, and France (Allies) and the eastern side by the Soviet Union. Then there was the city of Berlin located on the eastern half, again the same split up situation as the country of Germany. However, there was one major issue with this set up. The Soviet Union side was strictly communistic with their type of government while the other side pushed a democratic government, proving to a difficult combination. So, when West Berlin wanted to introduce a new money system in their thriving sector, the Soviets who were struggling to survive decided to shut everything down. They cut off all transportation of goods (food, coal, and supplies) into Berlin and forbid anyone to leave via railroads, waterways, or the roadway system known as the Autobahn. Though, officials of the Soviet Union claimed they closed the Autobahn "for repairs". Just over 2 million Berliners inhabiting the Western part of the city were now subject to the control of the Soviets. They hoped this blockade would eventually push the Allied forces out of Berlin.



 __Help is on the Way!__ The fate of the citizens living in Berlin was now in the hands of the Soviets, which was not too reassuring for most. Starvation would soon kick in if no help arrived soon. Some airfields, surprisingly, were the only accessible form of transportation over Germany. So, the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Air Force in Europe (USAFE) were ordered in to airlift supplies into the three Allied airfields in West Berlin. There was Tempelhof occupied by the American section, Gatow by the British, and Tegel by the French. U.S. President Harry S. Truman was the one to give the go-ahead to General Lucius D. Clay on June 26th for the U.S planes to fly in and start "Operation Vittles" (called "Operation Plainfare" by the British). They began with American C-47s flying in 80 tons of food to help sustain the people of Berlin, then days later brought in more massive planes with even more tons of food each visit. Over time, the residents learned to adjust to these overhead deliveries of daily necessities.



 __The Failed Plan__ In early 1949, the Soviets were losing hope that their master plan to drive out the West Berliners would be victorious. At midnight on May 12, 1949, the blockade was uplifted and the Soviets reopened the highway, train, and water routes for traveling. Though, the airlifting of supplies was still in effect until September 30th of that same year, costing more than $220 million in total to fund the operation. It was said by General Clay that "the determination of the people did not falter."



__Overview of the Berlin Wall __ Everything in Berlin stayed rather quiet for about 10 years after the blockade was over. Though, during that time, millions of people made their way from East Berlin to West Berlin to escape the grips of communism and enter a land of freedom to make a living for themselves. The Soviets were frustrated by how so many of their citizens were leaving their side and tried to hold conferences to prevent more from deserting. However, those meetings didn't go so well and from June to August of 1961, more than 67,000 individuals headed west. Then on August 12, Nikita Khrushchev allowed the Soviet government to shut down the border between East and West Berlin and halt the overwhelming migration. A temporary barricade was built out of mostly barbed wire before the later construction of the Berlin Wall.



__ Up She Goes! __ <span style="color: #e4a309; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;">The people of West Berlin showed no real reaction to their neighbors putting up the barbed wire fencing to slit up the city. Just two days after the temporary wall was put up, the Easterners took more drastic measures and started the real construction of the concrete Berlin Wall. The barrier measured in at 12 feet high and was crafted so nobody would be able to climb over it. Though, if by some miracle they did make it up and over, there were a number of back-ups to stop anybody in their tracks (ex: guards, trained attack dogs, high-beam lights, etc.). Security was tight at the wall and difficult to travel back and forth between the two sides of Berlin. Three original checkpoints were established along the wall named “Checkpoint Alpha” at Helmstedt, “Checkpoint Bravo” at Dreilinden, and “Checkpoint Charlie” at Friedrichstrasse. A thorough background inquiry process had to be done on the East Berlin side before crossing over any one of the checkpoints. There were around 170 people, at the minimum, that had tried to make their ascent over the Berlin Wall, but were killed in the process. As for the lucky ones that did make it to the other half of the city, they had quite the creative methods of making it to West Berlin (ex: going over-head with hot air balloons or under by slithering in sewers).

__<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Timeline __ <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;"> June 18, 1948 : Tension begins when West Berlin introduces new currency. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;"> June 23, 1948 : Soviets initiate the blockade. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;"> June 26, 1948 : Planes first sent into Berlin to deliver supplies to refugees. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;"> May 12, 1949 : The blockade is lifted. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;"> September 30, 1949 : Official ending of the Berlin Airlift. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;"> August 12, 1961 : Construction of the Berlin wall starts. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;"> November 9, 1989 : Berlin Wall taken down as the Cold War comes to a close. <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;"> October 3, 1990 : East and West Germany come together once again.

__ Significance and Impact __ <span style="color: #e4a309; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;">The Berlin Airlift demonstrated the ruthless persistence the Allied forces had against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Instead of creating a whole other world war, the United States, Great Britain, and France were able to defend themselves and their people without actually getting into combat. The West Berliners would have starved to death if it weren't for the American and British planes that delivered the vital supplies from above. It also showed that the Allies were not going to let their power be pushed out of Berlin by the Soviets and further let a communistic government be spread. As for the Berlin Wall, it allowed for a separation of two very different ways of life without any major battle. Though, it still allowed tensions to build up since there was no real solution to the problem in Berlin besides putting up the wall.

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__<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;">Source Citations: __
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<span style="color: #e4a309; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">"Berlin Wall." //History.com//. A&E Television Networks, LLC, n.d. Web. 27 Apr 2012. <http://www.history.com/topics/berlin-wall>.

<span style="color: #e4a309; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Hanes, Sharon M., and Richard C. Hanes. //Cold War Almanac//. 1. Farmington Hills: The Gale Group, Inc., 2004. 62-66. Print.

<span style="color: #e4a309; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">LERNER, ADRIENNE WILMOTH. "Berlin Airlift." //Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence and Security//. Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 99-101. //Gale World History In Context//. Web. 26 Apr. 2012.

<span style="color: #e4a309; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">PARRISH, THOMAS. "Berlin Blockade." //Encyclopedia of Russian History//. Ed. James R. Millar. Vol. 1. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004. 142-143. //Gale World History In Context//. Web. 26 Apr. 2012.

<span style="color: #e4a309; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Shafer, Boyd C., Richard A. McLemore, and Everett Augspurger. //1865 to the Present: A United States History for High Schools//. River Forest: Laidlaw Brothers, 382. eBook. <http://books.google.com/books?id=Jma4bS4ZsioC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0