The Berlin Airlift: Background, Execution, Consequences, and Significance (Research Paper Sample)

The Berlin Airlift
Background, Execution, Consequences, and Significance
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Berlin Airlift
Introduction
The Second World War resulted in much damage to countries like Germany, which had been ravaged by the war. The allies had been victorious in the war and developed a plan to decide the fate of Europe after the war through the Potsdam Agreement. One of the major agreements was the division of Germany into occupation zones which would be divided among the allies. The Soviet Union would take control of Eastern Berlin, while the U.S., Britain, and France would take control of Western Berlin. The Center of allied control in Berlin was 100 miles inside Soviet territory, which meant that the allies had to go through Soviet-controlled territory to access their territories in Berlin. However, the relationship between the Soviet Union and the allies deteriorated, resulting in increased tensions. The Soviet Union blockaded all roads, water routes, and rail routes to regions of Berlin controlled by the allies prompting the allies to begin the Berlin Airlift, which supplied the blockaded regions. The Berlin Airlift was essential in getting supplies to Western Berlin, but it also resulted in several consequences, especially for Eastern and Western Europe.
Background
When the Second World War ended, Germany lay in ruins, and Berlin was in a delicate situation. More than two million people still lived in Berlin and required food and other supplies for survival in the wake of a devastated economy. The allied powers decided on the division of Germany, where the Soviet Union occupied the Eastern part, and the rest of the powers occupied the Western part of Germany(Miller, 2008). However, the allies still had to access their regions in Berlin which were enclosed in Soviet territory. In the initial stages, access was not a problem. Even though there had been no official bargain between the Soviet Union and the allies on accessing Berlin, they relied on Soviet goodwill, which had worked. However, the relationship between the Soviet Union and the allies dwindled on suspicion and allegation of each side hoping to dominate Europe through their ideas.[Miller, Roger G. To Save a City: The Berlin Airlift, 1948-1949. Texas A&M University Press, 2008.]
The rift between the two sides widened when each side tried to use Germany to spread their ideas in Europe. In 1945, hoping that the U.S. would withdraw from Germany within a year, Joseph Stalin informed the communist leaders in Germany that he planned to slowly undermine the British within their occupation zone (Ellis, 2021). The soviets had granted limited access, and the Western allies had assumed that it was temporary and access would be expanded. However, in 1946, the Soviets halted the delivery of agricultural products from their region in Eastern Germany. The response of the Americans through their commander involved halting the shipments of dismantled industries from Western Germany to the Soviet Union. The Soviets launched an extensive public relations campaign against American dogma and obstructed administrative work in the occupation zones. The differences over