Yuen Wai Ng
Mr. Kobrowski
History IA
13 March 2017
Research Question: To what extent did the Berlin Airlift of 1948–1949 affect US-Soviet relations during the course of the Cold War?
Word Count: 1653
Section 1: Identification and Evaluation of Sources This investigation will explore the question: To what extent did the Berlin Airlift of 1948–1949 affect US-Soviet relations during the course of the Cold War? The years of 1948 and 1949 will be focused in this investigation, but some pre- 1948 and post- 1949 will be used as support. The first source which will be evaluated is Richard Harris’ excerpt of "The Berlin airlift" from the textbook American History, published in 1998. The source origin is valuable because the author
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Section 2: Investigation
After the end of World War Two in 1945, the Western Powers, which included the United States of America, France and Great Britain, entered a period of military and political tension between them and the Soviet Union, despite the tentative alliance during World War Two. The first major international crisis of the Cold War started on June 24, 1948, when the Soviet Union tried to “starve the Western-held sectors of Berlin into submission” and imposed the Berlin Blockade, by cutting off all water, rail, and road connections to West Berlin, where the allies occupied. In response to this, the United States and Great Britain resolved to sustain and keep Berlin supplied by air, or through flight, which soon became known as the Berlin Airlift (Harris). This creates the question of, To what extent did the Berlin Airlift of 1948–1949 affect US-Soviet relations during the course of the Cold War?
On March 1948 General Lucius D. Clay, the Military Governor of the American zone of occupation in Germany, sent a telegram to the Chief of Staff of the US Army in Washington, depicting the beginnings of the Soviet Union’s imposed restrictions,
“...submit to individual documentation and also will submit their personal belongings for Soviet inspection… permit is required… for all freight brought into Berlin by military trains… Obviously these conditions would
The Cold War had a significant impact on American foreign policy, changing it substantially in both attitudes to social and economic factors. The heavy influence of a difference in political standing between the Soviet Union and the United States, in conjunction with the high tensions that followed in the post war period, set the foundations for American foreign policy to adapt and change to better suit the developing political agender of the time. Socially, the two sides were heavily split, with the Soviet Union seeking communist support and allies whilst the US sought to counter their progress in a similar manner. Economically these relations with foreign countries that either joined the eastern or western blocs helped to further the
Brands' purpose for writing this book was to inform the reader of actions taken before, during, and after the Cold War. After World War II, the United States and Russia were the only two remaining world powers. Each had a conflicting method of government, which ultimately led to the Cold War. The two superpowers were at the center of attention for the better part of
Analyze the influence of the following on American-Soviet relations in the decade following the Second World War:
Following the Second World War, the United States had gotten involved in the Cold War. The United States and Soviet Union had become the two superpowers, vividly proving their strengths in the most recent war. These strengths, however, caused a rivalry to form between the two, and would affect the United State’s domestic policy and American society throughout the Cold War. Communism and the threat of war were the most prominent aspects which affected the United States both economically and socially.
With an end goal to test the United States' dedication to control Joseph Stalin chose to set up a bar around West Germany. (Doc B) The bar kept all provisions, including sustenance, from being brought into Western Berlin. Since the U.S. was at that point sending billions of dollars into Europe the Soviet Union felt that they wouldn't get included in the little encounter going on. Be that as it may, the United States regarded their dedication to the Truman Doctrine and alongside assistance from their partners; America flew in provisions and sustenance to West Berliners for over a year. The Berlin Airlift was a win and on May 12, 1949, Stalin evacuated the barricade(Doc B). This demonstration of regulation demonstrated that the States kept their oath when it came to keeping the spread of
From 1941 to 1949 there was an expansion in doubt and pressure between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Soviet union was a Communist nation controlled by a dictator while America was an industrialist majority rules system that esteemed flexibility. Their totally unique convictions and points made grating structure between them. The commitment to the formation of the Cold War was toward the beginning of the first world war. Germany and the Soviet Union marked a nonaggression settlement.
During the Second World War, USA and the Soviet Union came together against a common enemy. It was the immediate events after the War which lead to renewed tensions between the superpowers. Many commentators attribute the Berlin Blockade crisis of 1948 to be the catalyst that sparked the beginning of the Cold War. The Cold War period was a state of political and military tension running parallel with the development of nuclear weapons between the United States and the Soviet Union. The ideological differences between these two Superpowers put massive strain on their relationship. USA was democratic, capitalist state. Their ideals were heavily based on a classist society, where the means for producing and distributing goods is owned by a small minority of people (World Socialist Movement 2016). The Soviet Union’s communist ideals were at the other end of the spectrum. Their ideas were based around communal management and public ownership of major production mediums (Richard Dagger 2014). It is obvious that these ideologies are extremely different. Over the next four decades the world came close to
Despite its beginnings as a logistical nightmare for the aircrews and aviators, the Berlin Airlift was effective in the role of containing the spread of communism into Berlin, while ensuring the survival of capitalism for its millions of citizens.
“What happens to Berlin happens to Germany; what happens to Germany, happens to Europe.” These were the words of Vyacheslav Molotov, Soviet Foreign Minister from 1939 through 1949. The Soviet Blockade of Berlin was a direct challenge to Western attempts to combine their zones of occupation, and it threatened to unleash World War III. The Western Allies’ response to this blockade was a massive airlift, supplying over two million people in West Berlin with food, water, medicine, and other supplies. The Berlin Airlift was an important historical event which occurred just three years after the conclusion of World War II in Europe, and it had many complex causes and far-reaching consequences.
Almost as soon as World War II had ended, the Cold War began, and the Soviets wasted no time in spreading their communist ideals to nearby countries by forcefully establishing communist governments. Soon after, they held on tightly to their eastern block of Germany as a first defense from western political thought, even going as far as blockading Berlin from any form of help, especially from the West. The West quickly responded by airlifting supplies that included food, coal, etc. . This marked the first instance of the American policy of containment, which was the idea that the Soviet Union and Soviet communism should not be allowed to spread (Background Essay). As time went on and acts of communism began to burst out globally, the U.S. policy of containment became an effective
Despite its beginnings as a logistical nightmare for the aircrews and aviators, the Berlin Airlift was extremely effective in the role of containing the spread of communism into Berlin, while ensuring the survival of capitalism for millions of its citizens.
The Berlin Airlift- The airlift involved American, British, and French aircraft delivering supplies to West Berlin, which was blockaded by the Soviets. The Soviets wanted the US, France, and Britain to get out of West Berlin permanently, but the Americans won’t let that happen since they don’t want communism to spread. Aircraft from the non-Soviet occupation zones in Germany took off with supplies and landed in the airfields inside West Berlin. The airlift made it possible for the people inside West Berlin to survive, and the blockade was eventually lifted due to the embargo placed on products made in the Eastern bloc.
Later, events like Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech, and the Berlin Blockade, many attribute to the start of the Cold War. These were simply the two strongest European nations coming out of WWII trying to gain leverage in the newly structured continent. While it was a strong move by the Soviet Union, Berlin was inside their occupation zone laid out at Potsdam. More than anything, the issue of Berlin, was much like that of the Truman Doctrine and Marshal Plan that are often included in causes of the Cold War. These were all issues of the United States trying to move their democratic ideals into other parts of the world, while the Soviets were trying to spread communism. This battle is not new, given that the Red Scare occurred in 1920, so it clearly is the continuance of two countries ideals, not the start of the Cold War. While this struggle has been going on for years and did not cause the Cold War, it definitely played a key role how it did culminate.
The year was 1948, and the Soviets were holding control of West Berlin with a strategic blockade (Granieri 1035). Since the Soviets had full control of East Germany, establishing themselves as a powerhouse was a priority. However, the United States had another idea in mind, one that did not include giving up their West Berlin territory. A new initiative was underway, an operation to get supplies from the United States to West Berlin (Granieri 1035). Actions taken by military personnel and representatives from both nations can be looked at like playing a game of chess: by taking actions and calculating risks, each side will show their
They wanted to drive The United States of America, The United Kingdom and France out of the city. So, in 1948, what came to be known as the Soviet Blockade was an event that aimed to starve the western Allies out of the city. The United States could have retreated and started a war. But they did not. In fact, they themselves sent food to the city of Berlin and wanted to bring it back to normal. This is because they did not want Soviet Union to gain full control over the city. They could not see this part of the city turning totally communist. This effort, known as the Berlin Airlift, lasted for more than a year and delivered more than 2.3 million tons of food, fuel and other goods to West Berlin. 300,000 Berliners demonstrated for the international airlift to continue. In May 1949, The Soviets lifted the blockade, permitting the resumption of Western shipments to Berlin.