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The Berlin Airlift
June 27, 1948 to May 12, 1949
Introduction
Following World War II, a delicate balance of power had surfaced between the once united Allies: Great
Britain, the United States, France, and the Soviet Union. The opposing economic structures of capitalism
and communism emerged triumphant at the end of the war. The two blossoming superpowers, the United
States and the Soviet Union, sought to ensure their permanence by negotiating territorial claims
throughout the globe. At the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences, Europe and the Far East were partitioned
off as spheres of influence to their respected Ally governments. Germany was divided into fourths
allowing each Ally to run its division by a military government until a suitable national government could
be devised and the country put back together. This divided Germany, under direct supervision of the
Council of Foreign Ministers (Allied Control Council or ACC) and the Kommandatura, was to become the
first battleground of the emerging Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.
The year of 1948 was a critical turning point in the presidency of Harry Truman. He was staring down the
barrel of a re-election campaign, presented with his lowest approval rating to date, and faced with the
threat of a possible World War III with the Soviet Union over a developing situation in Berlin. Furthermore,
Truman's record against the Soviets, up to this date, had been ineffective in keeping them from occupying
Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. Republicans were calling him soft on
communism and Senator Joseph McCarthy was at his prime on his communist witch hunts in
Washington.
In regards to the German situation, General Clay remarked that the mood in the western zones was
"more tense than at any time since surrender." British and American staff were leaving Berlin for the
expanding administration of Bizonia, giving Berliners reason to believe the Western powers were leaving.
Food rations in some parts of Germany were being cut to 900 calories a day, far below the recommended
daily allowance for adequate nutrition. Labor unrest was prevalent throughout all the regions of Germany.
Communist groups on all sides of Germany were gaining followers because they offered hope and
prosperity in the future. American, British, and French authorities were facing their worst fears....a
beleagured German people searching for drastic solutions.
In early September 1947, the United States had, along with Great Britain, combined their zones into one
military province called "Bizonia," hoping to bring security back to the German people. This formal joining
helped to provide economic stability to a cash strapped British zone. Soon after, France followed suit and
annexed its section to Bizonia. The new Trizone leadership now looked to secure some economic stability
in the midst of the German recession. In February 1948, the United States and British proposed to the
ACC that a new four-power currency be created. The Soviets, however, hoping to continue the German
recession, refused to accept the new currency, in favor of the overcirculated Soviet Reichsmark. By doing
so, the Soviets believed they could foster a communist uprising in postwar Germany through civil unrest.
In a March 1948 meeting of the ACC, it was evident that no agreements could be reached on a unified
currency or quadpartite control of Germany and an infuriated Marshal Sokolovsky and his Soviet
delegation stormed out of the meeting. Both sides waited for the other to make a move. Trizonia, finally,
in an effort to stabilize the economy, established its own currency on June 18, 1948.
The Soviets, trying to push the west out of Berlin, countered this move by requiring that all Western
convoys bound for Berlin travelling through Soviet Germany be searched. The Trizone government,
recognizing the threat, refused the right of the Soviets to search their cargo. The Soviets then cut all
surface traffic to West Berlin on June 27. American ambassador to Britain, John Winnant, stated the
accepted Western view when he said that he believed "that the right to be in Berlin carried with it the right
of access." The Soviets, however, did not agree. Shipments by rail and the autobahn came to a halt. A
desperate Berlin, faced with starvation and in need of vital supplies, looked to the West for help. The
order to begin supplying West Berlin by air was approved later by U.S. General Lucius Clay on June 27.
President Truman, wishing to avoid war or a humiliating retreat, supported the air campaign, against
many advisors wishes. Surviving a normally harsh German winter, the airlift carried over two million tons
of supplies in 270,000 flights. The blockade of Berlin was finally lifted by the Soviets on May 12, 1949.
Berlin became a symbol of the United States resolve to stand up to the Soviet threat without being forced
into a direct conflict.
Vocabulary
Bizonia
area of land in Germany where the British and American occupation zones merged in early 1947
consternation
amazed terror that confounds the faculties and incapacitates for reflection
Council of Foreign Ministers
Conisisting of United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, France and Nationalist China, it was
created following World War II to establish peace treaties for the war in Europe and settle
disputes between the victors.
Kammergericht
Supreme court in Prussia
Kommandatura
the inter-Allied governing authority of Berlin created at the end of World War II
Landgericht
County courts in Germany
Questions:
1.
Do you agree or disagree with President Truman's handling of the Soviet Blockade of Berlin?
Why or why not? Was it effective in solving the crisis?
2.
In what ways did President Truman's handling of the blockade lead to greater Cold War tensions?
3.
Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain during most of World War II, once described
Russia as a "riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma." What does he mean by this? How
does this statement apply to the Soviets during the Berlin blockade?
4.
Should the Western powers have left Berlin to appease the Soviets?
5.
In what ways did President Truman's airlift support the foreign policy of containment?