2.6 The Berlin Airlift

Question 1

Blockade def

Answer 1

When a place is isolated to force capitulation (ceasing to resist an opponent)

Question 2

What was the West’s response to the blockade

Answer 2

• there was a commitment to hold on to West Berlin
• no agreement at Yalta or Potsdam guaranteed supply lines to West Berlin, so the Soviets weren’t breaking international law

Question 3

When did the west introduce a counter-blockade and what did it do

Answer 3

• 24 June, stopped trains travelling from west Germany into the soviet zone
• damaging for east Germany but not enough for the ussr to break the blockade

Question 4

What did the west do when the counter blockade didn’t work?

Answer 4

• some argued that they should force their way through the blockade, Truman thought this would lead to war
• roads, railways and waterways blocked. They could only get to the city by air

Question 5

What were American transport planes called

Answer 5

C-47s

Question 6

What was the problem with C-47s?

Answer 6

• could deliver less than three tonnes a day (10,000 needed to keep the city working each day)
• despite this, an airlift began on the same day as the counter-blockade
• US air force put its planes on standby

Question 7

When did the first planes fly into Berlin

Answer 7

26 June

Question 8

What was the Berlin operation called

Answer 8

Operation Vittles by the Americans, Operation Plainfare by the British

Question 9

How did the Berlin Airlift work

Answer 9

• it began with 80 C-47s making two trips a day
• over the coming weeks more and more planes were added
• any plane that was available was pressed into service
• at its height, a plane was arriving in Berlin every three minutes and 4000 tonnes of supplies were delivered each da

Question 10

Was the airlift successful and dud the Soviets give in

Answer 10

• it was, but the Soviets seemed determined not to give in
• tensions between the two governments were the highest they had ever been
• war seemed a real possibility, because the USA was the only country with nuclear weapons, it was unclear what form a conflict would take

Question 11

When was the Easter parade launched and what happened

Answer 11

• 15 April 1949
• 12,000 tonnes of coal were delivered in 1383 flights

Question 12

What happened on 12 may

Answer 12

Stalin ordered the lifting of the blockade

Question 13

When was the Federal Republic of Germany (FDR) created and how did it work

Answer 13

• 23 May 1949
• it was an independent democratic republic with its own government in the city of Bonn

Question 14

What did the Soviets do in response to the creation of the FDR

Answer 14

• the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was created in October 1949
• the GDR was run in the same way as the USSR under a communist party

Question 15

What was the name of the secret police of the GDR

Answer 15

The Stasi

Question 16

When was the North Atlantic treaty signed and what was it

Answer 16

• April 1949
• it was the key agreement of NATO
• the key agreement of NATO was the principle that an attack on one member would be considered an attack on all
• the treaty promised that the countries’ military forces would coordinate joint military action

Question 17

What does NATO stand for

Answer 17

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

Question 18

What did NATO mean for the West and the ussr

Answer 18

Countries in Western Europe: guaranteed that the usa would support them if their security was ever threatened and that the Americans would remain involved in European affairs long term
USSR: represented an aggressive alliance and was a threat to soviet security. Six years later, the ussr formed the rival Warsaw pact