After the end of World War II, Germany was militarily occupied by countries that had defeated Hitler's armies. England, France, the United States and the Soviet Union divided the country into areas of influence of each of these countries. The same division took place in the city of Berlin. With the intensification of hostilities during the Cold War, between the USSR and the countries allied to the USA, the Soviets decreed the Berlin blockade, between 1948 and 1949.
This measure taken by the Soviets was the result of an escalation of hostilities and economic investments that both the US and USSR were carrying out in European countries destroyed by the war.
In 1947, the US launched the Marshall Plan, which consisted of investing sumptuous amounts of money. capitals in Western European countries, with the aim of rebuilding economically and socially these countries. The main beneficiaries of the investments were England, France, Italy and Germany.
On the Soviet side, the USSR launched Cominform and Comecom. Cominform, also known as International Revolutionary Communism, established in 1947, had the objective of coordinating the actions of the so-called Communist countries of Eastern Europe. The Comecom, or Mutual Economic Assistance Council, played a role in initiating economic integration among countries within the sphere of influence of the USSR.
On the west side, these measures resulted in the monetary and administrative uniformity of the German territories under the control of the USA, France and England. Standardization contradicted the decisions made at the peace conferences at the end of World War II, especially those in Yalta and Potsdam.
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This measure made Germany the scene of the intensification of tension between the two poles of the Cold War. The USSR's reaction was to cut off the land and river communications of the city of Berlin, putting pressure on the Westerners. The Blockade of Berlin was made possible by virtue of the city being located in the Soviet part of Germany.
The reaction of Western countries was to communicate with Berlin by air, so that the western part of the city could be supplied. This situation brought again the imminence of a new armed conflict in Europe. However, in 1949, the blockade was lifted, forming two new countries that year: The Republic Federal of Germany (RFA), or West Germany, and the German Democratic Republic, or Germany Eastern.
The capital of West Germany became the city of Bonn, and the capital of East Germany remained Berlin, but only its eastern part. However, because Berlin was still divided between the military powers, the East German rulers decided to build the Berlin Wall, in 1961, physically separating the two regions of the city, making the wall the main symbol of the Cold War.
By Tales Pinto
Graduated in History
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
PINTO, Tales of the Saints. "Blockage of Berlin and the Cold War"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiag/bloqueio-berlim-guerra-fria.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
General history
Click on this link from Brasil Escola and access information about the Chinese Revolution, which took place in 1949. On this link you will have access to an overview of the situation in the country at the beginning of the 20th century and you will know how, gradually, the communists gained the support of the Chinese population, which allowed the seizure of power in 1949.
