Avoiding World War Three, or the first victory of the Cold War? Helena P Schrader re-evaluates Britain’s contribution to Operation Plainfare, the UK’s designation for the Berlin Airlift
In June 24, 1948, the Soviet Union abruptly closed all land and water access to the Western Sectors of Berlin – this ‘Berlin Blockade’ being seen as one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. At the time, the former German capital was jointly occupied by the four victorious powers of World War Two, each occupying its ‘sector’ of the city. The respective occupying power bore sole responsibility for maintaining civic services and providing the population of their sector with the necessities of life. Until the imposition of a Soviet blockade, the Western Allies imported the bulk of goods consumed by the 2.2 million Berliners in their sectors overland from western Germany. The objective of the blockade was to force the Western Allies, each of whom maintained a small presence in Berlin, out of the German capital.
Initially, it appeared that the Western Allies had the option of either withdrawing their garrisons from Berlin and thereby allowing the Soviet Union to take control of the former German capital, or trying to break the bl…
