#125 - The Berlin Blockade

The fault of the Berlin Blockade is often laid at the feet of Stalin. But the truth is a little more complicated. By 1948, the situation in Germany was still messy. The Four Powers (USA, USSR, UK, France) in control of Germany couldn't agree on a path forwards. Russia and France wanted to keep Germany weak. The USA and UK wanted to build it back up into a European economic power. And they wanted it to be firmly in the capitalist economic bloc. So the USA and UK took a dump on the principles of the Allied Control Commission and just made decisions regarding the future of the two-quarters of Germany under their control. France later joined them. This is what lead Stalin to stop them from entering Berlin, which was fully within the Soviet zone of occupation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices