Berlin Crisis & Germany (1948-49)

The ACC (Allied Control Council):

The governing body for Germany. The Soviet representative walked out in March 1948, marking the end of four-power cooperation.

Bizonia (1947):

The economic merger of the British and US zones. Stalin saw this as a violation of the Potsdam agreement to treat Germany as a single economic unit.

Trizonia (1948):

The addition of the French zone. This created a "West German" bloc that terrified Stalin.

The Deutschmark (DM):

Introduced in June 1948. It was worth much more than the Soviet Ostmark, causing people to flee the Soviet zone to find better currency.

Why was Berlin a 'Window'?

It allowed people in the Soviet zone to see the prosperity of the West, which was an embarrassment to Communism.

The Berlin Blockade (June 1948):

Stalin cut off all land and water routes. He left the electricity on for a few days before cutting that too.

General Lucius Clay:

The US commander in Berlin who proposed sending an armed convoy to break the blockade (Truman said no, fearing WWIII).

Operation Vittles:

The code name for the US airlift.

The Three Air Corridors:

20-mile-wide paths from Hamburg, Hanover, and Frankfurt that Stalin could not block without shooting down planes (starting a war).

1.5 Million Tons:

The total amount of coal flown into Berlin (more than food) to keep the city's power plants running.

70 Cargo Planes:

The number of planes landing every hour at Tempelhof Airport at the height of the crisis.

The Counter-Blockade:

The West stopped all trade with the Soviet zone (steel/chemicals), which crippled the East German economy.

The Failure of the Blockade:

Stalin lifted it on May 12, 1949, because it had failed to starve the city and made him look like a villain.

The Formation of the FRG (May 1949):

The Federal Republic of Germany (West). Its constitution was called the "Basic Law."

The Formation of the GDR (Oct 1949):

The German Democratic Republic (East). A "satellite state" governed by the SED party.

The 'New' Capital of West Germany:

Bonn was chosen because it was small and temporary—the West still hoped for a united Germany.