The Berlin crisis of 1948 – the first confrontation between the former allies

From June 24, 1948, the former capital of Germany endured the blockade. It lasted almost a year. The city lacked food, fuel, and all of the household items, without which people's lives very difficult.

The War ended three years ago, the need has become as familiar in the second half, but that was to experience the Berliners, it was not much easier than experienced during the collapse of the third Reich. The country is divided into zones of occupation controlled by the military administrations of the USSR, USA, great Britain and France, in each of the sectors has its own problems, and apply their own laws.

The Former allies were on the brink of war. The reason that later received the name ‘the Berlin crisis”, was the mutual desire of the countries of the Western coalition and USSR to expand its sphere of influence. These intentions are not hidden, they openly talked and Truman, Churchill, and Stalin. The West feared the spread of communism throughout Europe, and the USSR did not want to accept the fact that in the center of the sector allotted to him under the terms of the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, the island is capitalism.

The Berlin crisis of 1948 was the first major clash of the post-war Stalinist regime with the countries of market economy, first and foremost, with the United States, had almost developed into a military phase. Each party sought to show its strength, and did not want to compromise.

Started the Berlin crisis with a fairly routine recriminations. A plan for economic aid to countries that have suffered during world war II, known by name of its initiator, George C. Marshall, then Secretary of state, suggested a number of economic measures, in particular the introduction of a new brand in the territory occupied by the Western allies. Such a “master” behavior irritated Stalin and the appointment of General William Clayton, known for his anti-Communist views, at the head of the American occupation administration, has only added fuel to the fire. A number of clumsy and uncompromising actions of both parties led to the fact that the communications of West Berlin with the sectors controlled by the Western allies was blocked by Soviet troops.

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The Berlin crisis reflected the irreconcilable differences between the former allies. However, the reason it was a strategic mistake of Stalin in the evaluation of potential its potential enemies. They managed in the short term to establish an airlift that supplied the besieged city with all the necessary, up to the coal. First, even the us air force command belonged to this very skeptical, especially since no one knew how far will Stalin in case of escalation of the confrontation, he could give the order to shoot down the transport "Douglas".

But that didn't happen. Accommodation at West German airfields connection B-29 bombers has been a sobering experience, although atomic bombs on them, but again, it was a big secret.

The Berlin crisis is unprecedented, in less than a year, the pilots, mostly British, made two hundred thousand sorties, delivering 4.7 million pounds of aid. In the eyes of the inhabitants of the besieged city, they became heroes and saviors. The sympathy of the world was not on the side of Stalin, who, convinced of the failure of the siege, gave the order to take it off in mid-may 1949.

The Berlin crisis led to the unification of all the occupation zones of the Western allies and the creation on their territories of Germany.

West Berlin remained an Outpost of capitalism and its “showcase” throughout the cold war. It was separated from the Eastern part of the city wall, erected thirteen years later. Located in the heart of the GDR, it caused many complications, particularly the Berlin crisis of 1961, also ended in a strategic defeat of the Soviet Union.