Stay Tooned: The Berlin Airlift

The Berlin Airlift stemmed from the Berlin Blockade which occurred in June 1948. It was the world’s first major situation with regards to the Cold War that involved a plethora of nations. The Soviet Union enacted the blockade after the Deutsche mark was introduced to areas of Germany controlled by the Western Allies. The soviets blocked off all roads and railways into the sectors of Berlin controlled by the Western Allies. To get around this blockade, the allied forces organized a massive airdrop operation for the people of West Berlin. Up to 8,893 tons of essential supplies including food and fuel were dropped in from the various military aircraft over the course of 200,000 flights in one year. The Soviet Union did not attempt to interfere with any of the flights, fearing that such actions could insight a serious conflict and no one was prepared for another war given they were still recovering from the last one. The blockade was lifted in May of 1949 when the Soviet Union finally realized the futility of their blockade, the allied operation successfully delivered more supplies than ever before.