Berlin Airlift Dbq

After World War II (WWII), Germany was split into a Western and Eastern half. The Soviet Union took the Eastern half, and the United States, France, and Great Britain took the Western half; they were considered the victors of World War II. Berlin being in the center of the Soviet Union’s territory was also split. Instead of two sides, it was split in to four sections. One side was for each victor to oversee and rebuild, since it was basically destroyed during the war. Because of this, the four countries started the Allied Control Council that was established in Berlin. The council met to determine several plans for post-War Europe, including how to change borders and transfer populations in Eastern Europe and Germany. Almost immediately, differences …show more content…
The United States saw things in quite a different way. American leaders believed that the economic recovery of Western Europe was dependent on a strong, reunified Germany. Because of this conflict, a blockade was started by the Soviets in which they cut off necessary supplies to the Western side. In response to the Soviets Blockade, the Berlin Airlift began on June 24, 1948 it was a time of political, technological, and military trial.
The Allied Control Council met at a Potsdam Conference to discuss postwar Germany’s punishments and future eventually splitting it up to oversee the land. When Berlin was split each division was given a 20 mile-wide air flight path to their own zone. No arrangements were made involving roads, railroads, or barge travel. This came back to hurt the still allied countries in June of 1948. Soon after the conference the relationship between the Western allies and the Soviet Union began to worsen, because the Western allies such as the United States, France, and Great Britain proposed on unifying each of their divisions to rebuild and name West Germany. They also replaced the current currency with the Deutsche Mark, because they believed it was the