The Cold War: The division and blockade of Berlin Francesca Weikert IB History February 24, 2012

1. The Cold War: The division and blockade of Berlin Francesca Weikert IB History February 24, 2012 Immediate Cultural and Political Significance Historical Significance BACKGROUND- What led to the Berlin Blockade? The Soviet Union opposed a separate West German state and attempted to prevent this by pressuring West Berlin. On June 24, the USSR cut off all road, rail and freight traffic to West Berlin while also cutting the supply of electricity from East to West Berlin Allies responded with a massive airlift, in which tones of food, fuel and other basic items were flown from Trizonia into West Berlin to supply its two million citizens. In May 1949 Stalin called off the Soviet blockade due to its obvious failure and therefore the airlift ended as well. The Blockade was viewed as an attempt by the Soviet Union to drive the Allies out of Berlin in preparation for taking over the western zones of Germany. The prime minister of the West German Laender had first been reluctant to accept the creation of a separate West German State yet he agreed as a way of ensuring US protection against Soviet takeover. The new Federal Republic of Germany (FDR) was set up in may 1949. The USSR didn’t want to set up a separate East German State; they had hoped to avoid a permanent division and desired the emergence of a neutral Germany independent of a US-dominated Western Europe. On October 7, the USSR finally accepted the division of Germany and announced the transformation of its eastern zone into a new state: the German Democratic Republic (GDR) Division of Germany and mainly Berlin represented the division of Europe into two suspicious and hostile camps. The Berlin Blockade did not turn into a ‘hot war’ yet is reflects the tensions between capitalist states and the communist USSR. Because of these tension the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic were formed. The division was most apparent with the construction of the Berlin wall. After Germany had lost the second World War, the Yalta Conference was held February 4–11, 1945 as the wartime meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union Soviet to discuss Europe's post-war reorganization. The allies decided to disarm, demilitarize, de-nazify and divide Germany. It was also decided that post-war Germany would be divided into four zones of occupation between USA,USSR,UK and France At the Potsdam Conference from July 16 to August 2, 1945 representatives from the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union decided that despite the temporary divide into four allied zones of occupation, Germany should be treated as one economic unit administered by the Allied Control Council(ACC) The main cause of the Berlin Blockade was the Cold War.Stalin was beginning to take over eastern Europe Czechoslovakia for example had just turned communist (March 1948). On the other hand, the United Sates had just adopted the Truman Doctrine to ‘contain’ the USSR.     Stalin wanted to destroy Germany whereas Britain and the USA strived to rebuild Germany’s industry to create a wealthy trading partner. West: The occupying powers helped create a capitalist society. The economy grew rapidly and West Germany was experiencing an “economic miracle”. Individuals were able to buy gadgets and appliances and to travel as they wished. The citizens of West Germany were very content with their living situation. East: The communist society majorly restricted individual freedom. Living standards were poor due to lack of financial support from other nations. Free elections were banned by 1946 and East Germany turned into a completely Stalinist authoritarian state by 1950 which led to the major riots of 1953. By the late 1950s, Germans in east Berlin could not stand living under Soviet control and over 2.6 million people began to pack their bags and move to the Western part. Many who fled were young, trained professionals therefore East Germany was losing their best labor force. From 1949-1961 over 3 million East Germans fled to West Germany because they were unsatifiedwith communism. In 1961,Soviet soldiers built a wall of concrete and barbed wire that divided East and West Berlin. People who tried to escape were shot. 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