On this Day

Children in West Berlin watch U.S. airplanes bring in supplies

On this Day: Soviet Union Ends Berlin Blockade

May 12, 2008 12:10 AM
by findingDulcinea Staff
On May 12, 1949, Russia ceased an 11-month blockade and efforts to isolate and annex West Berlin, defeated by a massive daily U.S.-British airlift of supplies.
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30-Second Summary

After World War II, Germany had been divided into four zones, occupied by the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union. Berlin, located in the heart of the Soviet zone, was similarly divided.

But postwar relations between Russia and the Western Allies quickly soured over economic and political issues, and the Soviets decided to push the West out of Berlin.

On June 12, 1948, the Soviets closed the Autobahn to West Berlin, then cut off barge and rail traffic. On June 25, all supply shipments into West Berlin were prohibited.

Britain and the United States decided to supply West Berlin by air. The Berlin airlift, which began on June 26, reached its goal by August of delivering more than 4,500 tons of food and fuel daily.  Pilot Gail Halvorsen and his “candy bombers” even airlifted tons of candy for Berlin children.

On Easter Sunday 1949, almost 13,000 tons of supplies were delivered in a single 24-hour span. Realizing the blockade was failing, the Soviets sought to negotiate. After a May 4 meeting with Western Allies, Russia agreed to end the blockade, effective on May 12.

By then British and American pilots had delivered more than 2.3 million tons of supplies in more than 275,000 flights. The operation was a major political and public relations success for the Western Allies and an embarrassment for the Soviet Union.

Headline Links: Blockade ends

Background: Strained relations led to blockade; West responds with ‘Operation Plane Fare’

Key Players: Gail Halvorsen’s candy bombers

Historical Context: The beginning of the Cold War

Reference: Documentaries on Berlin Airlift and Cold War

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