Berlin Blockade

E2140

Cold War crisis Soviet foreign policy action blockade

The Berlin Blockade was a 1948–1949 Soviet attempt to cut off Allied access to West Berlin, triggering a major Cold War crisis and the Western powers’ massive airlift operation to sustain the city.

Aliases (4)

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Cold War crisis → Soviet foreign policy action → blockade →
affectedPopulation	residents of West Berlin →
aim	force Western Allies out of Berlin → gain control over all of Berlin →
alternativeAccessLeftOpen	air corridors to West Berlin →
cause	disputes over control of Berlin → introduction of the Deutsche Mark in Western zones of Germany →
conflictWith	Western Allies →
contributedTo	formation of NATO →
countryInvolved	France → Soviet Union → United Kingdom → United States →
endDate	1949-05-12 →
endedBy	Soviet decision to lift the blockade →
enforcedBy	Soviet military authorities in Germany →
followedBy	formal establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany → formal establishment of the German Democratic Republic →
hasSignificance	first major crisis of the Cold War → symbol of Cold War division of Europe →
location	Berlin → Soviet occupation zone of Germany → West Berlin →
method	blocking all ground access routes to West Berlin → cutting canal traffic to West Berlin → cutting rail links to West Berlin → cutting road links to West Berlin →
opponent	France → Soviet Union → United Kingdom → United States →
partOf	Cold War →
precededBy	division of Germany into occupation zones →
relatedTo	Allied Control Council disputes → division of Berlin into sectors →
responseBy	Western Allies →
result	continued Western presence in West Berlin → failure of Soviet attempt to force Western withdrawal from Berlin → increased East–West tensions → strengthening of Western alliance →
startDate	1948-06-24 →
supplyCut	food shipments to West Berlin → fuel shipments to West Berlin → industrial goods shipments to West Berlin →
temporalContext	post–World War II occupation of Germany →
triggered	Berlin Airlift →

Referenced by (18)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Allied occupation of Germany → British sector of Berlin → Eastern Bloc → United States–Soviet Union relations → West Berlin Allied forces →	significantEvent
Luftbrücke → Operation Vittles →	hasCause
Berlin Airlift → Berlin Airlift ("Soviet blockade of West Berlin") →	wasResponseTo
West Berlin →	blockadedIn
Luftbrückendenkmal ("Soviet blockade of Berlin") →	commemorates
Cold War →	hasSignificantEvent
American sector of Berlin →	historicalEvent
Berlin Airlift ("Berlin crisis of 1948–1949") →	partOf
Ich bin ein Berliner speech ("Berlin Crisis") →	politicalContext
Berlin Crisis →	relatedEvent
Operation Vittles →	relatedTo
Luftbrückendenkmal →	topic