Why Is The Berlin Airlift: Important To American History

After World War II Germany was divided into sections, with the section including Berlin belonging to communist controlled Soviet Union. Many nations, including America, had friends and family living in the city. These nations did not agree with the communist ideals of the Soviets, and wanted to make sure they were not being mistreated in the city. The Berlin Airlift is important to American history because it showed that Americans were not afraid to stand up to their former allies and aid their people in a time of need.
Because of Germany’s loss in World War II, their country and capital city of Berlin were divided into sectors and put under control of the British, French, Americans, and Soviets. Berlin was technically in the Soviet Union’s occupied zone, so they believed that they should have complete control of the city. To promote this idea, they closed all highways, canals, and railroads going to and from West Germany, controlled by the other nations. This made it difficult for nations to bring in supplies to their own sectors in Berlin. Soviets thought that this would help drive those countries and their people out of Berlin, but it only angered them more.
Instead of leaving West Berlin like the Soviets wanted to, Americans and their allies made the decision to help the people living in their sectors by bringing in food and supplies by air.
This became known as “the Berlin Airlift” and lasted a little over a year, bringing in 2.3 million tons of cargo into West Berlin during the time period. A United States military commander in Germany named Lucius Clay said, “If we withdraw [from Berlin], our position in Europe is threatened, and Communism will run rampant.” which made the American people support this operation more, as one of their greatest fears at the time was the spread of
communism.
In May of 1949, the Soviet Union realized that their blockade was not serving their intended purpose of driving Westerners out of Berlin and decided to put an end to it. They opened roads and railways into the city back up, but America still brought in supplies by air for the next four months just in case the blockade was put up again. By the end of the yearlong blockade, the United States and Britain had flown in over 259,000 plane’s worth of supplies.
The event showed that Western nations had common goals and common enemies. Western allies had shown unity throughout World War II and the Berlin Airlift, which aided in the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO. The main purpose of NATO was for all of the member nations to come together and aid another member nation if it was attacked. This was important to America because it directly and permanently got rid of America’s isolationist way of thinking.
The Berlin Airlift was a great success to America, Britain, and France, and a terrible failure for the Soviet Union. America’s actions during this event helped prevent total Soviet control of Germany. It also showed that America was committed to stopping the spread of communism into other nations.