1.  JUNE 1948 : Stalin cuts off road,rail and water routes into the American controlled section of Berlin. Berlin was in the Russian controlled part of Germany and this meant 2 million people were cut off and could not have food delivered.  Stalin hoped that the Western powers would allow West Berlin to become part of Russian controlled East Germany rather than letting the people starve.

2.  The Americans were determined not to give in as it would encourage Soviet aggression. They wanted to send a message to Stalin that they would not allow Communism to spread.  They organised a massive airlift operation whereby goods were flown in, it was called OPERATION VITTLES.  Planes took off every 3 minutes and delivered 10,000 tonnes per day.

3.  Food was rationed and Berliners only had electricity for 4 hours a day. 125,000 people lost their jobs.  The blockade lasted 320 days, in May 1949 Stalin lifted the blockade. He realised the city would survive and it was bad publicity to be seen trying to starve 2 million people into surrender.

4.  This was a huge victory for the US and its policy of Communist Containment.  Because of the blockade NATO was set up in April 1949. It was a military alliance that meant if one of the countries was attacked they would all join together to defend that country. It included the US, FRANCE, CANADA, BRITAIN, ITALY and TURKEY.