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Events Leading to the Blockade of West Berlin
After World War II, the leaders of the Soviet Union in Moscow had hoped the poverty of war-torn Western Europe would give them the opportunity to spread Communism into Western Europe. In 1948, President Truman, with the approval of Congress, established the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan granted $12,500,000,000 to repair the economic damage of World War II.
The Marshall Plan shocked the Soviet leaders in Moscow. They would no longer be able to use the poverty in Western Europe to spread Communism. Moscow's reaction to the Marshall Plan was swift. The military governors of the Soviet Union announced that they would inspect all freight shipments coming into West Berlin. The officials of the United States would not agree to this because the Soviet leaders had agreed to allow open traffic through a corridor connecting West Berlin with West Germany.
By July 1, 1948, the Soviet Union had blocked all land and water routes into West Berlin. This is called a blockade. The people of West Berlin could not survive long without food, coal, or other supplies. They would be forced to become part of Communist East Germany.
President Truman was faced with this situation. What would you have done to save the people of West Berlin from Communism?
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