Heart of Nazi power: Berlin was the symbolic capital of Germany.
End of War Race: USA, US, and USSR raced to Berlin.
Geographical Location: USA and USSR were keen for central European military bases.
Power and Prestige: Both USA and USSR wanted influence in Berlin.
Location: Berlin was deep inside the Soviet sector.
Division: It was divided between the four Allied powers (USSR, USA, Britain, France).
Joint Control: Germany was run by a Joint Allied Control Commission, and Berlin was run by a joint Allied Kommandatura.
West Germany
Growing Tensions: Tensions grew between the USSR and the USA, Britain, and France.
Stalin's Aims: Stalin wanted to keep Germany weak to prevent any future invasion.
Blocking Western Allies: Stalin wanted to force the Western Allies (Britain and France) out of West Berlin.
Berlin Blockade: In June 1948, Stalin blocked all routes in and out of Berlin: road, rail, and canal routes were all cut. All surface transport links were severed.
Response: The choice to fly supplies in was taken.
Significance: This meant the Western Allies wouldn't give in to Stalin but also wouldn't provoke a war.
Pressure on Stalin: It placed pressure back on Stalin because he couldn't just shoot down planes.
Supply Flights: For eleven months, food and other supplies were flown into Berlin by British, French, and U.S. planes.
Living Conditions: Inhabitants of West Berlin in 1948 lived on dried potatoes, powdered eggs, and cans of meat, with just 4 hours of electricity per day.
Scale of Airlift: 275,000 flights carried in 1.5 million tons of supplies. At its peak, one plane landed every few minutes.
Cost: The airlift cost over 100 million, together with the lives of 79 service men who died in accidents.
End of Blockade: In May 1949, Stalin called off the blockade.
The Berlin Wall: Stalin had the wall built between the nations; it highlighted the divisions between East and West and made the divisions more permanent. They lasted until the 1990s.
Cold War Escalation: The Cold War worsened; war had almost broken out.
Division of Germany: Germany would now be split up into West and East Germany.
Arms Race: Both sides focused on building conventional and nuclear weapons.
NATO and Warsaw Pact: Defensive alliances would be set up.
Federal Republic of Germany (FRG): In May 1949, the Western Allies set up the new Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) – West Germany.
German Democratic Republic (GDR): In October 1949, the USSR responded by creating the German Democratic Republic (GDR).
East Germany: Berlin was a massive problem for East Germany because it was an escape route to the West. Between 1945 and 1961, 1/6 of the East German population had fled to the West. These were young, well-qualified people, exactly those East Germany didn't want to lose.
Desire to remove the West out of Berlin: The new USSR leader Khrushchev, like Stalin, wanted the West out of Berlin.
Espionage: Both Sides accused the other of spying (which was entirely accurate).
Soviet Concerns: The Soviets continued to see Western influence in Berlin as dangerous and troublesome.
Paris Summit Collapse: Khrushchev hoped that the issue would be resolved at the Paris Summit of 1960, but this collapsed due to the U-2 spy plane incident. Tensions thus again rapidly grew between East and West Germany.
Containing East Berliners: In August 1961, Berliners woke up to find their city divided in half. The construction of the Berlin Wall had begun.
Border Control: East German guards patrolled the wall and shot anyone trying to escape over it.
Definition: Competition between the United States and USSR, which competed in the development of their weapons.
John F. Kennedy: US President (1961-1963)
Richard Nixon: US President (1969-1974)
Nikita Khrushchev: USSR President (1953-1964)
Klaus Emil Julius Fuchs: Contributor to the development of nuclear weapons.
Directly: United States and Soviet Union
Indirectly: Turkey and Cuba
1945: First A-Bomb
1949: First USSR A-Bomb
1952: US tests H-Bomb
Jan. 1954: Massive retaliation
Aug. 21, 1957: First USSR ICBM (Inter Continental Ballistic Missile)
July 9, 1959: US develops ICBM technology.
May 1960: U-2 incident
October 1961: Soviets detonate Tsar Bomba
Oct. 16 1962: Cuban Missile Crisis
March 23, 1983: Strategic Defense Initiative
US Focus: US focused on science and math.
Academic Competition: Academic competition between US and USSR.
Constant Alert: Worry and unease
Military Strength: Strengthened their military.
Civil Defense: Public schools held civil defense classes "duck and cover" drills.
Food Stockpiles
Underground Facilities
Bomb/Fallout Shelters
Emergency Broadcast System
Public training
Food Stockpiles
Fallout Shelters
Covert Mission: A covert mission by the British Special Operation Executive (SOE).
Churchill's Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: Creation of Churchill’s Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.
Date: Jan. 14-15, 1942
Location: Fernando Po (part of Equatorial Guinea)
Aim: To capture Italian and German ships from a neutral Spanish Harbor
Importance: A strategic mission to disrupt Nazi supply lines and logistics.
Special mission assigned directly from British PM Winston Churchill.
Nazi Ships: Nazi ships were using neutral harbors to avoid Allied attacks.
SOE Aim: The SOE aimed to interrupt these activities without breaching international law.
Operatives: Operatives led by Major Gus March Phillips.
Plan: Steal Italian and German vessels without engaging Spanish authorities.
Date: Jan. 14, 1942
Tactics: SOE operatives infiltrated the harbor, seized the ships (Duchessa and a German Tug).
Outcome: The ships were towed to Lagos, Nigeria.
Minimal Resistance: The plan was to have no shots fired, minimal resistance, but it did not go fully to plan.
SOE Success: A major SOE success with international political implications.
Political Embarrassment: Embarrassed Nazi powers and strained Spanish-Axis relations.
Morale Boost: Boosted morale for Allied operations in Africa.
First Use: First use of spies in both on land and at sea operations.
Celebrated Mission: Operation Postmaster remains a celebrated SOE mission.
Set Precedent: Set a precedent for future covert naval operations.