Berlin Airlift 1948-49 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Berlin Airlift 1948-49 - Essay Example The provisions of the said agreement stipulated the division of Germany into four zones, allotted for each country, in accordance with the principles agreed upon in the Yalta Conference in 1945. In the same way, this set the division of Berlin into four zones as well (â€Å"Wikipedia†). However, the agreement had not provided for arrangements with regard to access to Berlin given that the city is within the Soviet zone (â€Å"Reader’s Companion to American History†). With this, the divergence of views on the status of Berlin soon emerged. The Soviet Union considered the presence of the other three Western nations only as a temporary occupation. As Joseph Stalin claimed, in economic and administrative terms, the whole of Berlin belonged to the Soviet-occupied zone of Germany. On the other hand, the Western Powers asserted that the citizens of Berlin had the right to choose and determine the future. (Elkins) The rift was further aggravated given the difference in Soviet Union’s and Western nation’s viewpoints regarding the economic recovery plan for Germany. The former believed that Germany should be incapacitated to launch another war since Stalin assumed that Germany along with Japan could once again be perils to Soviet Union by 1960s. On the contrary, the Western Powers, particularly the US, stressed that the post war reconstruction of Europe primarily depends on the rebuilding of German economy and industry. (â€Å"Wikipedia†) In line with the Western recovery plan, the unification of the Western-occupied sectors in Germany, dubbed as the Marshall Plan, was announced on March 6, 1948. The three Western zones would be consolidated with an independent federal government (â€Å"Wikipedia†). In this regard, the Soviet Union withdrew from the Allied Control Council administering over Berlin due to the perceived violation of the Potsdam Agreement by the Western Powers (â€Å"Reader’s Companion to American History†).