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Impact of the Versailles Treaty on Germany
Impact of the Versailles Treaty on Germany
Impact of the Versailles Treaty on Germany
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Berlin 1945 - 1991
A city divided - 1945
The separation of Berlin began in 1945 when Germany collapsed after the Nazi Germany era had come to a close. Germany was divided into four zones, each section was occupied by the allied powers who defeated Germany in WW2 (the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, United States and France). Berlin was divided into four zones when at the Yalta Conference, the leaders of the USA, the USSR and Britain agreed that Germany and its capital, Berlin would all be divided into four zones, this was just the introduction to the cold war for the “island city” of Berlin.
The Berlin Airlift - 1948-1949
In June 1948 the Russians (who wanted Germany all for themselves) closed all of the highways, railroads and canals from Western-occupied Germany into Western-occupied Berlin. Russia’s reasoning for the Berlin Airlift was to eventually drive France, Britain and the U.S out of Berlin for
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Project Operation VITTLES (A.K.A the Berlin airlift) was to commence. The Allies plan was to use open air corridors to send through aircrafts containing food, fuel and other goods to the people who lived in the western part of Berlin. Operation VITTLES was anticipated to be a short term event as the allies thought that Stalin would give in and open up the on ground entrances into the Soviet’s zone. The Communists didn’t give in and the allied forces settled in for the long haul. At the beginning of the operation there were hundreds of American, French and British cargo planes flying all over Berlin supplying goods to the American sector (Tempelhof), the British sector (Gatow), and the French sector (Tegel). During operation VITTLES planes would deliver about 5,000 tons of supplies through to West Berlin everyday. At this point in time life in West Berlin wasn’t pleasant, there was very little food and electricity and the black market was the most sufficient way of obtaining
Following the conferences during World War Two, Germany was split up into two zones. Occupying West Germany and West Berlin was France, Britain and The United States, while the Soviet Union occupied Ea...
To secure its economy and to maintain it, the German Democratic Republic decided to build the heavily protected Berlin Wall. This would limit the number of exodus from the East and give the German Democratic Republic a large advantage over its population. As the wall had many purposes, one of them was to see if the West would retaliate in any way in response to this move. When there was no involvement from the any of the powers that controlled the West, German Democratic Republic took advantage of this situation to its favor and increased its control. It restricted Britain and France to enter East Berlin from their normal waypoints, rather commanded them to take the route through the American passage which, moreover, was heavily guarded and every personnel was checked before entering.
Berlin and West Berlin but was located deep inside the Soviet controlled zone. Then, in 1961, the Soviet government built a wall which separated the two halves of the city. It was not until the 1980s that cold war tensions eased. through the glasnost (openness to public debate) policies of soviet leaders. Mikhail Gorbachev.
The Allied forces did not have the resources to carry out a strike. The Allies, especially the Air Force, were heavily engaged in actions elsewhere; any non-military mission could have possibly cost the Allies the winning of the war, and would have, at th...
The end of World War II was the beginning of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States. The Soviet Union had control over East Berlin, which was governed by a communist government and the United States had control over West Berlin, which was regulated by a democratic government. Both countries wanted full control over Berlin, so the Soviet Union set up a blockade on the West but was unsuccessful. The Berlin Wall was then built to stabilize the economy of East Berlin, which meant that fewer people could escape the east to live in the west. In the article “The fall of the Berlin Wall: what it meant to be there,” by Timothy Garton Ash, he highlights the feelings of no longer having a “iron curtain” segregating both sides of Berlin.
Ann and John Tusa were both graduates from Cambridge University. Their first book “The Nuremberg Trial” won the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award. “The Berlin Airlift” is an in-depth account of the dramatic events that led up to the Berlin Blockade and the events that followed. They argue that Soviet intention in the Berlin Blockade was aggressive and aimed at driving the Western allies out of West Berlin. As the Tusas’ view opposes Powaski’s in every aspect, this source is very valuable as it provides an alternative view on the same event in history. It is limited by the fact that the Tusas appear to try to justify and almost glorify American actions, fully blaming the
President Stalin saw the US strategy to rebuild Europe as a way to weaken Soviet influence in that region. This led to the aggressive struggle to take over control of Germany, which led to the divide of Germany. German Capital, Berlin took the hardest hit. The city was divided into the East and West. Soviets were in control of the East while the West was controlled by the Americans, British and French. West Berlin enjoyed more liberal civil and democratic freedom than their counterparts in East Berlin. Again the US and its allies were able to aggressively block any form of communist insurgencies into those areas by providing massive supply of food and other necessities for West Germany in what was known as the Berlin Airlift. This eventually led to the formation of East Germany in
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 precipitated the Reunification of Germany in 1990. Negotiations and talks between East German’s Lothar de Maiziere and West German’s Helmut Kohl and the four occupying powers of United States, United Kingdom, France, and Soviet Union resulted in the Unification Treaty or the “Two plus Four Treaty” recognizing the sovereignty of the newly unified German state. The five states of German Democratic Republic or East Germany united with Federal Republic of Germany or West Germany and Berlin became a unified city on October 3, 1990 marking the die wende or Turning Point. “By early 1991, however, not much more than a year after the barricade surrounding the Brandenburg Gate was actually removed, most Germans, East and West, were asking themselves whether the Wall’s absence was, by itself sufficient to bring the nation together again” (McAdams 199).” Zealous attempts to restructure East Germany’s economy after reunification in 1990 led to massive debt and high taxation, sparking disillusionment and frustration among German citizens, which resulted in a divided and unequal economy.
At first, the divisions between East and West Berlin were uncertain. There was nothing that divided the city. For more than ten years after the official split of the city, East Berlin saw a major emigration of East Germans, unhappy with the communist system. With nothing physical to separate East and West Berlin, migration from totalitarianism to democracy was as easy for East Berliners as changing houses. The Soviet Union went against their promises to the people of East Germany, and made East Germany a Communist country. This decision by the Soviet Union separated East Germany even more from the rest of Europe. East Germany was now all by itself, and by the summer of 1952 th...
The most visible aspect of the Cold War was the Berlin Wall. Before the wall was constructed, East and West Germans could travel freely between the two states. The number of East Germans fleeing to West was an embarrassment to the Communists, and something had to be done to pro...
After WWII After WWII, Germany was divided into four zones and occupied by Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Berlin itself was occupied by the western powers; however, it was surrounded by the Soviet zone. Between 1947 and 1948 cooperation between these powers broke down. The west decided to create a separate government in their zones. To prevent this, the Soviet's increasingly harassed the western traffic to and from Berlin. Russia was trying to spread communism, abolish democracies, and spread poverty. Thus creating the Berlin Blockade, which forced America to create the Berlin Airlift. This created a greater controversy between the United States. This controversy's caused spies to enter into the opposition's country.
The extent to which the fact that the Western Allies did not respond with violence but with the airlift and its success was a main factor to its end will be assessed. The significance of the agreement made between the Soviets and the US in lifting not only the Berlin Blockade but also the Western counter blockade will also be evaluated. The reasons for the implementation of the blockade, the actions of the superpowers that do not contribute to the failure of the blockade, and the consequences of this crisis will not be investigated. The analysis will be done by researching different views on the blockade’s failure and the events leading up to it.... ...
Still bound by very complex regulations, West Berlin began to rebuild in earnest. It was given special treatment by West Germany and by the Allies. Its survival became a symbol of Western commitment against Soviet style communism. Money was pumped in, industries revived, a new University created, since Communist professors and principles dominated the Humboldt University in East Berlin. But the East German Government, certain that West Berlin would eventually fall to them, was richly inventive in tactics of intimidation. Highways were blocked for hours or days at a time, as were canal and rail corridors. Finally, they blockaded the city totally. The Americans - specifically, General Lucius Clay, - invented the Air Lift. For over a year, one B-29 after another flew into Tempelhof Airport and supplied the city until the blockade was lifted.
The collapse of the Berlin Wall changed Western Europe as we know it today. The Iron Curtain which had split Europe had ascended and the once divided germans were reunited under one common nation. The causal factors which resulted in the fall of the Berlin Wall were internal — communism imploded upon itself—. Gorbachev attempted to reform communism through Glasnost and Perestroika, which were supposed to incorporate economic reforms and transparency, however, history illustrates that increased liberty is incompatible with communism. Dr. Schmidtke argued that structural deficiencies led along with poor economic growth which led to the collapse of communism in Europe, and consequently the collapse of the Berlin Wall. The alienation of intellectuals and the authoritative nature of communist regimes further contributed to the failure of communism in Europe. However, the collapse of the Berlin Wall would not have occurred had it not been for Gorbachev’s Glasnost, Perestroika, and the end of the Brezhnev Doctrine. Along with German official Schabowski whose actions were the catalyst for the mass exodus of persons from the GDR into West Germany. The Collapse of the Berlin Wall would not have occurred so swiftly had Gorbachev not tried to implement reforms to communism.
“The Berlin Tunnel Operation Gold (U.S.) Operation Stopwatch (U.K.)” coldwar.org, The Cold War Museum, n.d. Web 19 April 2014 < http://www.coldwar.org/articles/50s/berlin_tunnel.asp#bt2>