Crisis in Berlin!

Investigating the Berlin Blockade,

1948-9

How was Germany divided?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nvyuif80kI

What were the causes?Extracts from the final report of the British Air Ministry on the Berlin Blockade, published in 1950

The Causes1. Yalta and Potsdam2. Marshall Aid3. The administration of Berlin4. The administration of Western

Germany5. A new currencySummary: What do you think was

Stalin’s main reason for deciding to blockade Berlin?

The chronology• February 1948 suggestion that currency

reform was necessary• Soviets hoped to continue German

recession, therefore favoured Reichsmark• USSR had been invaded twice by

Germany; they were alarmed at the prospect of a strong Germany

• March 1948: Soviet delegation walked out of meeting

• Initially gave the requirement that all Western convoys bound for Berlin to be searched

• The accepted Western view was ‘that the right to be in Berlin carried with it the right of access’

• Western sector governments refused the right of the Soviets to search their cargo

• US, France and Britain introduced new currency in Western zones 23 June 1948

• 24 June 1948 all surface traffic cut off to West Berlin, no land and rail routes

The purpose?‘When the order of the Soviet Military Administration to close all rail traffic from the western zones went into effect at 6:00am on the morning of June 24, 1948, the three western sectors of Berlin, with a civilian population of about 2,500,000 people, became dependent on reserve stocks and airlift replacements. It was one of the most ruthless efforts in modern times to use mass starvation for political coercion...’

(Lucius Clay, the military governor of the American zone of Germany)

Outcomes?• Blockade totally ineffective for Soviet

Union• Demonstrated the strength of the

USA• Provoked genuine fear of war in the

West• During the blockade, the US

stationed B-29 bombers (which had the capacity to carry an atomic bomb) in Britain

• Accelerated the Western powers plans to set up the West German state

The Results• How did the Berlin crisis lead to

western foreign policy becoming more coordinated? (include the role of NATO)

• Why was the formation of NATO so significant for the western powers?

• How did NATO affect the USSR?• How was Germany affected by the

crisis?

Airlift facts• The blockade lasted 318 days• In the winter 1948-9 Berliners lived

on dried potatoes, powdered eggs and cans of meat, with four hours of electricity a day

Western Sector residents exchange their Reichsmarks for Deutsche Marks

Source analysis

SourceInterpretation of the causes of the

blockade (include quotes)

I

J

K

Why did the Cold War extend to Asia, 1950-53?

Communism takes root in Asia

• China• Korea• Vietnam

Key words

Chiang Kai ShekMao ZedongGuomindangGeneral MacArthurKim Il SungSyngman Rhee

Leader of Chinese Nationalists

Leader of Chinese communists

Chinese NationalistsLed UN forces in Korea

(American)Communist leader in North

KoreaSouth Korean leader