Berlin Blockade and Airlift: Cold War Impact

Have you ever wondered how it would feel to be separated from the outside world? The people who lived in East Berlin in the time of the Cold War know. The Cold War was in 1945 through 1990 when the USSR and America were in a place of political hostility. During the Cold War the USSR and America were continually engaged in an ARMS race; both countries wanted to have the best and most weapons. There were many difficulties of the Cold War, but the Berlin blockade and airlift is certainly the first. The three main points of the Blockade and Airlift that I will talk about are why the blockade went up, how the airlift was used, and how it affected people.
In 1961 one of the most iconic monuments of the Cold War was built…the Berlin Blockade. According to the History Channel, tensions grew in Berlin when the United States, France, and Britain moved into their occupation zones. In response Russia launched a land blockade of West Berlin in an effort to force the West out of the city. “For the next 28 years, the heavily fortified Berlin Wall stood as the most tangible symbol of the Cold War-a literal “iron curtain” dividing Europe.”(The History Channel, 2010) The East Germans built a all to permanently close of access to West Germany. Many East Germans were dissatisfied with life under the

communist system. While Russia safe this as an effective step it made many East Germans angry with the government.
Because the USSR blocked off all transportation, the United States had one way to get supplies to West Germany.

The air. America refused to back down when the Soviets put up the wall, so they used an airlift to show that to them.(US History) According to US History, “over an 11 month time period the United States and Britain planes flew over 4000 tons of supplies daily into West Berlin. But in May of 1949, the blockade was ended and there was no need for the airlift any longer. US History states that, In the end America flew over 250,000 supply missions to the people of West Germany. The airlift was many people's saviors asd they wouldn't be able to get food any other

way.
The Berlin Wall has affected many people's lives in mostly bad ways. According to U-S-History, “Inhabitants of East Berlin and the German Democratic Republic were no longer allowed to enter West Berlin, amongst them 60,000commuters who worked in West Berlin. The Death Area is the place where refugees got to, and shot with no warning whatsoever. As U-S-History points out, on August 17, 1962 Peter Fechter, 18 years old, from East Berlin was shot and killed while trying to escape. The last person to try and escape was Chris Gueffroy on June 2, 1989. Many families were separated in one family member was on the West Side of the wall when the others were on the East side when the wall went up. There were many people in East Berlin who tried to escape, but many failed and were killed.
As you can see the Berlin Wall and Airlift was a very crucial part to the Cold War. The Berlin Wall has three main parts: why the blockade went up, how the airlift was used, and how the wall affected people from Berlin. Although Russia saw this as an effective step to spreading communism, it was handled very well by the United States and with the time the wall came down.