Berlin Blockade and Airlifts

Timeline

Split into 4 zones of military occupation after Yalta and Potsdam
Berlin occupied by Soviets for 2 months initially then by the Western powers in their sectors on July 1st (Britain, US and French)
Disagreements started, Soviets proposed the biggest Socialist party in Germany should combine with the Communist
- Socialists in Western sector believed it should be up to a vote
- They suspected unity with Communists = unity under the Communists
- Majority in Western sectors rejected this idea
Red Army had 2 million men under arms
- Determined to make Eastern Europe into a buffer zone to protect the USSR

Soviets had great hopes that the Communist led Socialist unity party would win, they lost
Led by Ernest Reuter, the non-Communist, social democratic party got almost half of the votes

The buffer zone was called the Iron Curtain by Churchill
In Berlin military leaders from all powers, sat in the Allied Control Council, the council ran the country and the city
- All decisions unanimous
Council agreed how people and goods must get to Berlin via the West

Western Powers met in London to decide on a seperate, Western state
Did not consult USSR on this nor told them what was happening
In Berlin the Soviets wanted to know what happened in London
General Clay, the American representative refused to tell, the Soviets walked out
Brought allied cooperation to an end
Soviets began traffic restrictions to routes to the West
Allies announced only their currencies would be allowed instead of the inflated wartime currency in West Berlin
USSR saw this as provacative as they wanted to introduce their currency not only in East Berlin but the whole entirety of Berlin

Social Democrats called a mass rally on September 5th
- Mayor Rueter spoke for 350,000 Berliners
Berliners refused to panic and Allied aircraft proved too much for the Soviets
The Soviet couldn't crush West Berlin politically or economically