LEARNING INTENTIONS
• Describe Berlin’s role in the Cold War
• Explain what the Berlin Blockade, Berlin Airlift and Berlin Wall were
Of all the famous events and places involved in the Cold War, German capital city Berlin is
arguably the most important city in the conflict.
After the Second World War, Germany was divided into four quarters amongst the
allies:
• The USA• The UK• France
• Soviet Union
However it was not just the country that was split; each of the four countries took
part of Germany’s capital, Berlin.
Berlin was in East Germany.
The three Western countries started to work together and this angered the Soviet Union.
They worried this would mean the West (USA) would soon control all of
Germany.
As Berlin was located in the Soviet Union’s area, they used this to hurt the other
countries.
In 1948, the Soviets stopped the USA, UK
and France from entering Berlin by
rail or road. This is called the Berlin
Blockade.
The Berlin Blockade meant that those on the West side would
soon run out of food, water and power.
The allies response to this became known
as the Berlin Airlift.
The Berlin Airlift involved US, UK and French airplanes
flying into Berlin to drop off food, water and other supplies.
Doing this helped the West side to survive
all through the Blockade.
The Soviets could not stop the planes for fear of starting a war. The airlift embarrassed the
Soviets.
The Blockade continued until May 1949 after which the Soviets cancelled it.
The Soviet Union’s defeat in the Blockade angered them. They were even angrier when the
Western sides announced one joint currency for
their areas.
Stalin responded by stopping any contact between East and West
Berlin.
Now the three Western countries (USA, UK, France)
joined their areas to form West Germany.
The part controlled by the Soviet Union was known as East
Germany.
Although the two sides of Berlin were
supposed to be separate, people still crossed between them.
This was especially true for people from the East, as their
side was much poorer.
Thousands of East Germans (and others
from the Soviet Union) travelled through
Berlin to the west.
The Soviet Union had a brain drain (losing some of its best
people; scientists, doctors, etc)
By 1961, the Soviets decided to
stop these crossings by
building a wall to divide Berlin.
They were encouraged by
President Kennedy’s refusal to stop such a
move.
The Berlin Wall caused families to be divided and trapped poor East Germans on their own
side.
There were official crossing points but a permit was needed.
Some East Germans were killed trying to
cross.
The best known crossing point in the
Wall was called Checkpoint Charlie.
Many people say this was the most dangerous place in the Cold War, because US and Soviet troops were located a
few hundred yards apart.
The Wall stayed up until the collapse of Communism in 1989.
Many argued that the Wall was an
embarrassment for the Soviet Union as it
showed people had to be forced to live
there.