The first serious crisis of the Cold War happened when the Soviets blockaded Berlin from the west, stopping the flow of supplies to the city.
Berlin had been divided up between the U.S., Britain, France and the Soviet Union. The western allies had started consolidating their occupied zones into “a single independent German state.” The USSR was not happy with the idea of a strong Germany, since they had been invaded twice by that country.
Seven
U.S. Air Force Douglas C-47 airplanes
unloading
cargo at Tempelhof Airport,
Berlin,
Germany during Operation Vittles
(Berlin
Airlift). Photo: U.S. Airforce
|
The blockade actually backfired on the Soviets as the airlifts made the blockade moot and it provoked a real fear of war in the West. Eleven months later, Stalin lifted the blockade.
Newsreel clip:
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