After the end of WWII, the nation of Germany was divided into four separate occupational zones in the effort to plan for a better future after such a gruesome war. Britain, France, and the US combined their three western sections of the country and West Berlin into one economic and executive unit, while Russia controlled the eastern part of Germany and East Berlin (Berlin Crisis). However, in 1948, tensions were rising as to who would gain control over the capital; the democratic western powers or the communist Soviets. The Soviet Union took offense to the Allied creation of a new German state with its own currency, the Deutschmark, and viewed this as an act of defiance against them (Office). They feared that new currency would devalue their …show more content…
The western sector was dependent on railroads and major roadways, like the Autobahn, to transport supplies into the city and its economy flourished under the control of the Allies. On the other hand, communism had been established in the eastern sector by the Soviets and was experiencing food scarcity and a lacking a strong economic structure (Lerner). Western Germany was clearly thriving under the Allies while the East was lacking the means to survive under a communist regime. The Soviets were foresing the influence of the Western Powers in Germany and began to act aggressively in order to gain domination over the …show more content…
If the city succumbed to Soviet aggression, the USSR would control all of Eastern Europe and might continue their push westward. The Allies were left with few options. The Red Army had a strong presence in and around the city and Western military power was almost absent from Berlin, making any assistance on the ground nearly impossible (Office). However, the Allies could not give in. “The seeds of totalitarian regimes are nurtured by misery and want. They spread and grow in the evil soil of poverty and strife. They reach their full growth when the hope of a people for a better life has died. We must keep that hope alive” (Harry S. Truman). Written agreements with the Soviet Union in 1945 confirmed that the only means of transportation by the Allies to the city were by air corridors from West Germany to the capital. If the Soviets were to attack against Allied planes with force, they would violate the agreement with an act to oppose an unarmed humanitarian effort (Office). With this knowledge, an Allied airlift over the blockade would spoil Soviet aggression and would maintain Western influence in the