Western Germany And Western Berlin example essay topic

The Cold War was a large-scale competition between the United States and the USSR for the dominance of the world. The Cold War started immediately after WWII and lasted through 1960. The conflict between these two nations went deeper then a simple squabble over land. President Roosevelt planned on staying allies with the USSR well after the war, but when he died Vice President Truman moved up.

Truman disliked the USSR very much and felt that Roosevelt's policy should be done with. Near the end of the war, both the US and the USSR were advancing towards Berlin in hopes to kill Hitler and end the war. The USSR arrived first and cleared out the city of Nazis. The Allied forces decided to split Germany up into different zones and each country watch over the rebuilding of their zone. They did the same thing for the city of Berlin because they felt one country having the capital would be too much power. This is where the basis of the grudge match began, with the rebuilding process.

Soon the match grew to each countries influence of Europe. The US pushed democracy on Western Europe while the USSR pushed communism on Eastern Europe. This evolved into the USSR a strong hold on Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, and Austria; the US spent billions of dollars trying to help all of the European countries and to stop the spread of communism. This event evolved in the forming of NATO and the Warsaw Pact. After that it turned into the Arms race where the two countries started to stockpile nuclear weapons. Next came the Space race for the advancement of space technologies.

When the Cold War was finally called to a stop, both countries had done great things and advanced into levels of inventiveness never thought possible. Both countries had been in outer space, made thousands of warheads, and successfully scared the other nearly into hiding. This was a time of ultimate fear, when each day was a blessing to live, and hiding under a wooden desk will save lives from dying in the nuclear explosion. The Berlin Airlift was an event that took place during the rebuilding process. Britain, France, and the US had agreed to merge their zones of Germany and Berlin together to better off the people who lived in these areas.

These areas were then called Western Germany and Western Berlin. Eventually a constructed wall, the Berlin Wall, instead of invisible borders, separated Berlin. Western Germany / Berlin was prospering and coming back very well from the destruction; where as, Eastern Germany / Berlin was doing very badly. People from Western Berlin were allowed to cross Eastern Germany to Western Germany anytime they wanted and return as easily because they were citizens of Western Germany.

People from Eastern Berlin were so sick of their poverty and so jealous of the Western Berlin citizens that they would try to cross the line and escape. This is what made the USSR build the wall, because they were embarrassed of these actions. The guards just weren't enough to keep the people of the Russian community on the correct side. As Stalin, the USSR's leader, became more and more embarrassed by the difference between the two sides of Berlin he tried to force to Western governments out. Stalin started a blockade of the American, French and British supplies to West Berlin. This blockade started to develop on April 1, 1948 and came into full development on June 26, 1948. (website #1- change this) The Secretary of State wrote a letter to Stalin about this blockade on July 6, 1948.

In the letter he states that this blockade is strictly against previous agreements of comity. It goes on to state that the US has earned the right to be there from the war: "The rights of the United States as a joint occupying power in Berlin derive from the total defeat and unconditional surrender of Germany" (Cold 47). Near the end of the letter it states that the US won't be kept out of Berlin with force: "It further declares that it will not be induced by threats, pressures, or other actions to abandon these rights" (Cold 48). Lastly, the letter ends with a comment about the Berlin people: "It is intolerable that any one of the occupying authorities should attempt to impose a blockade upon the people of Berlin" (Cold 48). America, France, and Britain all decided that the best way to help the 2.5 million people in their sector was to airlift in supplies. This plan was believed that it could make Russia lift the blockade once it saw the uselessness of it.

So for 381 days the American Air Force carried out Operation Vittles, the American mission plans for their part in the aid. Every six minutes a plane would land with supplies for twenty-four hours a day for all 381 days. (Great 36) This event was quite significant in the Cold War because it showed how motivated the US was to keep the USSR in step. This was the first time that military airlift was used as a tool for nation policy. This was also the first time that cargo / transport aircraft were used to uphold a city under "siege" (Operation). The Russians could have easily changed the outcome of this incident if they had used military force to back up the blockade, but Stalin felt it was a low-risk operation.

It is estimated that about 2,245,000 tons of supplies were dropped off to Berlin at an average cost of $400,000 per day. (Siskin) The total cost was $137,177,427.00 but the knowledge of air transport now was very valuable. On the last day on airlifts Operation Little Vittles was carried out as well as the normal supplies, this was an airlift where they brought candy over for all the children of Berlin. On the day of May 12, 1949 Stalin admitted his defeat and lifted the blockade from the city. (Foote).