18.1.10

The Berlin Airlift

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The Berlin Airlift

The Berlin Airlift from June 1948 to May 1949 was the response of the Western powers to the USSR's blockade of Berlin.

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The airlift

  • The Western powers responded to the blockade of Berlin by the USSR with an airlift.
  • From 26 June 1948 to 12 May 1949, supplies were flown each day into Berlin.
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The Rosinenbomber

  • The pilots became known as the “Rosinenbomber” (raisin bombers) because of the confectionary (sweets) they dropped from the sky.
  • A new airport, Tegel, was built to serve the operation.
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USA vs USSR

  • The airlift was a show of peaceful strength from the USA.
    • It made the USA appear generous compared to the Soviets.
  • Stalin was discredited because his action had failed and the West had shown its determination to support their German zones.
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New states

  • The events led to the formation of a new state in September 1949:
    • The Federal Republic of Germany in West Germany.
    • Bonn became the capital.
    • West Berlin stayed under the control of the allied powers (France, Britain and the USA).
  • One month later, the Soviets formed the German Democratic Republic, a Soviet satellite state in the east.

Jump to other topics

1The Medieval World: 450-1450 AD

1.1Anglo-Saxon England

1.2The Contest for the English Throne

1.3Conquering the Holy Land, 10-96-1396 AD

1.4King John

1.5The Magna Carta & Parliament

1.6The Black Death

2Worldviews

3The Empire of Mali

4The Renaissance & Reformations, 1500-1598 AD

5The British Empire, 1583-1960 AD

6The Peasants' Revolt

7Religion in the Middle Ages

8Slavery, 1619-1833 AD

9The English Civil War, 1642-1660

10The Industrial Revolution, 1750-1840

11US Independence, 1775-1783

12The French Revolution, 1789-1815

13The British Empire, 1857–1930

14Suffrage

15World War 1, 1914-1918

16The Inter-War Years, 1919-1939

17World War 2, 1939-1945

18The Cold War, 1947-1962

19Civil Rights in the USA, 1954-1975

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