THE BERLIN BLOCKADE AND NATO

THE BERLIN BLOCKADE AND NATO

Berlin situation

In 1945 Berlin was divided into the American, British and French zone (West Berlin) and the Soviet zone (East Berlin). Then, in 1961 a wall was built to separate East and West Berlin which became the symbol of the Cold War.
In 1948 Stalin tried to starve the people of West Berlin but he failed, the Western allies kept them supplied through a massive airlift.

Why was the Berlin wall built?

The crisis over Berlin was part of the wilder Cold War struggle between the USA and the USSR. Both countries had aggressive leaders, the Soviet leader was Nikita Khrushchev and the American leader was John Kennedy and each one was ready to threaten war to get what they wanted.

The consequences of the Berlin blockade

• By early 1948 Stalin had control of much of Eastern Europe.
• The US government decided to include Western Germany in its plan for a new non-communist Western Europe.
• Stalin believed in the possibility of another German attack on Russia.
• In attempting to stop the formation of West Germany Stalin thought that he could cut off their supplies by closing the roads and railways by putting a Blockade on West Berlin.

The emergence of West Germany
The Marshall Plan for the economic rebuilding of Europe was extended to the Western Germany. This was the beginning of the establishment of West Germany.
In June, 1948, the Western allies introduced a new currency into their area of control. The Deutschmark wasn't used in the Soviet zone.

The blockade began on June, 23 in 1948 when the Soviet authorities halt all the passengers and freight traffic to and from Berlin at 6 hours because of technical difficulties.

The Berlin Airlift
At the start of the Blockade Americans were not sure how to respond.
The government decided not to provoke war by sending troops, but to keep the city, supplied by aircraft to people in West, Staling ends the siege.
In 1949 the Soviet authorities called off the Blockade. The airlift was a triumph for the American and British forces.
Berlin had been a symbol of defeated Nazism.

After the Blockade
The formation of West Germany:
Between 1949-1960, 3 million East Germans fled to West.
The military authorities in Western zone organized meetings to work out a constitution. The new state was called the Federal Republic of Germany, and its leader was Conrad Adenauer.
In October, 1949 was established the Eastern State: German Democratic Republic.

The formation of NATO
The blockade also encouraged the Western allies to form The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It was dominated by the USA which had never before been a member of a peacetime military alliance. The alliance was to be supported with large numbers of troops on the ground. By 1953 five divisions of US troops were permanently based in Germany. The Soviet Union felt threatened by this, and this increased in 1955 when West Germany joined NATO. This was established under a treaty called The Warsaw Pact. For the next three decades NATO and Warsaw Pact forces faced each other and prepared for war.

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