At the end of World War II, it is 1945 and Berlin is divided into 4 sectors, the American, the British and on the west side, the French. The Soviet Union took control of the East side. On June 24th, 1948 the Berlin Blockade began. The Soviet Union attempted to cut off the Western Ally's railway, road and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under allied control. This resulted in the formation of the Berlin Airlift, a military operation that began on June 25th, 1948. The purpose of the Berlin Airlift was to deliver much needed food and supplies to West Berliners by air, since all supply routes on the ground were cut off. The blockade and the airlift operations ended a year later in 1949. The Berlin Airlift became one of the early events of Berlin's involvement in the Cold War.
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Timeline:
July 17th, 1953: Uprisings in East Berlin. December 11th, 1957: New law is enforced. Leaving East Germany without permission, will result in a 3 year prison sentence. August 13th, 1961: Berlin Wall begins construction. June 26th, 1963: U.S. President JFK visits Berlin and says in a speech, "Ich bin ein Berliner" (I am a Berliner). December 17th, 1963: A West Berliner citizen is granted permission to visit East Berlin for the first time in two years. September 3rd, 1971: 4 Powers Agreement over Berlin makes traveling easier for West Berliners. June 12th, 1987: U.S. President Ronald Reagan visits Berlin and urges Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall. September 10th, 1989: Hungarian government opens their border for East German refugees. November 9th, 1989: Berlin Wall demolished. October 3rd, 1990: Germany is reunited. |