On This Day: Soviet Union Ends Berlin Blockade

When the Soviet Union closed ground access to West Berlin in June 1948, it hoped the Western Allies in control of that part of the city would depart, leaving the Soviet Union to control the entire city. Instead the British and American militaries decided to supply West Berlin by air, and commenced the Berlin Airlift (aka Operation Plane Fare and Operation Vittles), to make daily deliveries of food, milk, coal and gasoline. The airlift began on June 26, and by August reached its goal of delivering more than 4,500 tons of food and fuel daily, reported the U.S. Army.

In addition to the supplies of necessities, candy was also delivered for the children of Berlin. During a brief stay in Berlin, American pilot Gail Halvorsen promised a group of children that he would drop some candy bars and gum from his plane the next day. Using handkerchiefs as miniature parachutes, he dropped the sweets to a group of waiting children near the airfield, the Truman Library explains. His story was picked up by the media and soon the military launched Operation Little Vittles, dropping 23 tons of chocolate, candy and gum by the end of the airlift.

On Easter Sunday, 1949, almost 13,000 tons of supplies were delivered within the span of 24 hours. By April 1949, the Soviets knew that they were beaten and announced their desire to negotiate an end to the blockade, wrote Time magazine. After a May 4 meeting with the Western Allies, Russia agreed to end the blockade, effective on May 12.

According to Britannica, the airlifts continued through September and in total, the British and American pilots delivered more than 2.3 million tons of supplies in more than 275,000 flights, at a cost of more than $224 million. The operation was a major political and public relations success for the Western Allies and an embarrassment for the Soviet Union.

The end of the blockade gave the citizens of West Berlin access to better quality food as well as more electricity and jobs. This seemed a fitting reward for their 11 months of dogged determination. A Time magazine correspondent in Berlin said of the end of the blockade, “If ever there are monuments raised to commemorate democracy’s victory in the battle of Berlin, there are plenty of heroes to adorn them. In their weary, often grumbling and fumbling way, it was Berlin’s plain people who won the battle.”

According to PBS, after World War II Germany was divided into four zones, occupied by the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union. The capital of Germany, Berlin, was similarly divided, with the United States, Britain and France controlling most of the western part of Berlin, and the Soviet Union controlling the eastern section of the city.  The city of Berlin was located in the center of the Soviet section of the country, however, requiring passage through Soviet-controlled parts of Germany to access any part of Berlin by land.

Although the four powers had intended to rule Germany together, the Western Allies wanted to rebuild Germany’s economy, whereas the Soviet Union, fearing that Germany could again become a military power, wanted to keep it weak. The Western Allies planned to introduce the Deutsche mark to West Berlin against the wishes of the Soviet Union. Postwar relations between the Soviets and the Western Allies quickly soured and the Soviets decided to push the West out of Berlin.

On June 12, 1948, the Soviets closed the Autobahn to West Berlin, then severed barge and rail traffic. On June 25, all supply shipments into West Berlin were prohibited. The Soviets hoped that the Western Allies would evacuate the city.