What caused the Berlin Blockade crisis during the Cold War?

The Berlin Blockade crisis was caused by the Soviet Union's attempt to control all of Berlin by cutting off Western access.

In the aftermath of World War II, Germany was divided into four zones of occupation, each controlled by one of the victorious powers: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union. Berlin, the German capital, was also divided into four sectors despite being located deep within the Soviet zone. This arrangement was a source of tension, as the Western Allies and the Soviet Union had different visions for post-war Germany. The Western Allies wanted to rebuild Germany and integrate it into the Western economic and political system, while the Soviet Union wanted to keep Germany weak and under its control.

The crisis began in June 1948 when the Western Allies introduced a new currency in their zones of Germany and in their sectors of Berlin. The Soviet Union saw this as a threat to its control over Germany and responded by blocking all road, rail, and canal access to the Western sectors of Berlin. This was an attempt to force the Western Allies to abandon their sectors of Berlin, leaving the entire city under Soviet control.

The Western Allies responded to the blockade by organising the Berlin Airlift, a massive operation to supply the Western sectors of Berlin by air. This operation lasted for more than a year and was a major success, demonstrating the Western Allies' commitment to maintaining their presence in Berlin and their ability to resist Soviet pressure.

The Berlin Blockade was a major crisis of the early Cold War. It highlighted the deep ideological and political divisions between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, and set the stage for the division of Germany into two separate states: the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) in the Western zones, and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) in the Soviet zone. The crisis also led to the creation of NATO, a military alliance of Western countries, as a response to the perceived threat of Soviet aggression.