---
title: "Berlin Blockade & Airlift"
year: 1948
country: "Germany"
canonical: "https://recap.at/1948/berlin-airlift"
slug: "berlin-airlift"
recapType: "global_event"
startDate: "1948-06-24"
endDate: "1949-05-12"
---

# Berlin Blockade & Airlift

> The Soviet blockade of West Berlin and the Western airlift response became the first major Cold War crisis, demonstrating resolve and technological capability under pressure.

In 1948, Stalin sealed off West Berlin from the outside world, betting the Western Allies would fold. Instead of backing down, the U.S. and Britain mounted a massive airlift—flying in coal, food, and medicine for nearly a year—and won a Cold War standoff that proved the Soviets could be defied.

## Summary

The Berlin Blockade was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under Western control. The Soviets offered to drop the blockade if the Western Allies withdrew the newly introduced Deutsche Mark from West Berlin.

## Sources

- [Berlin Blockade and Airlift](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Blockade) - Wikipedia

---
Canonical: https://recap.at/1948/berlin-airlift