This is IEB Grade 12 History. It includes the four Berlin Crises (Berlin Blockade, Uprisings in East Berlin, U2 Spy Plane Incident and the Berlin Wall). This forms part of the Cold War and is examined in Paper 1.
Berlin Blockade – First Berlin Crisis
24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949
West Germany (American, British and French sections) replaced the Reichsmark with the
Deutschmark to speed up economic recovery
- Germany could no longer be considered a sing economic unit (One of the decisions made at
the Potsdam Conference)
USSR protested, so created the Rentenmark for East Germany
- Western powers then retaliated by taking the Deutschmark to West Berlin (Undermine
Soviet influence in Eastern Bloc by highlighting the poverty in the region)
USSR decided to impose a blockade to try and isolate West Berlin as it is considered a “capitalist
island in a communist sea”
- All surface routes into Berlin were closed (ie: rail, road and canal)
- West Berlin had no access to resources (food, medicine, fuel, building supplies)
Western powers now had a problem:
- They could force their way into West Berlin through East Germany, but this would be seen as
an act of aggression and may turn the Cold War into a Hot War
- They could do nothing and allow the Soviets to take control fo West Berlin, but this would be
seen as a sign of weakness and a win for communism
The West decided to build an air bridge and fly supplies into West Berlin, this was known as the
Berlin Airlift
- West provided West Berlin with 2.5 million tonnes of supplies in a year – 277 000 flights over
327 days
Soviets tried to sabotage this effort
- Offered free food to those who defected to East Berlin and handed in their Western ration
card
- Harrassed Allied aircraft – blinded pilots with searchlights and obstructed planes with
parachute jumps
12 May 1949 – Stalin realised the West would not give up and called off the blockade
, Significance: Solidified the divide between Eastern and Western Germany (USA and USSR division
cemented)
West Germany became the German Federal Republic (GFR)
- Capital = Bonn
- Leader = Konrad Adenauer
East Germany became the German Democratic Republic (GDR)
- Capital = East Berlin
- Leader = Walter Ulbricht
USA decided they wanted to remain active in world affairs (ie: continue being a superpower) and
established NATO in 1949
This situation began a pattern for the Cold War – confrontation brought to the brink but no one is
willing to go to war (AKA: Brinkmanship)
The Blockade meant that Berlin became a flashpoint (potentially volatile area) in the Cold War
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