There was already ideological friction between the Western Allies
and the Soviet states. The priority for the Western powers was
to get Germany back to a state of self sufficiency but the Soviet
states wanted reparation. In the uneasy months that followed,
the victorious powers put their plans for progress into action.
In June 1948 the Deutschmark was introduced into Western zones
and in retaliation the USSR introduced the Ostmark. This deterioration
in relations between East and West powers came to a head as Russia
placed a blockade on West Berlin; nothing to go in or out by rail
or road. The ultimate goal was for all of Berlin to come under
Soviet control. Western response was swift and purposeful - if
land routes were closed then everything would have to come in
by air. The 'Berlin Airlift' had been born. For an unbelievable
11 months West Berlin was kept alive by a constant round of planes
landing with supplies of everything from fuel to food to machinery
and then taking off again. Flights were landing almost every minute
of the hour, 24 hours around the clock. It was a hazardous and
exhausting job being the pilot of one of these often less-than-reliable
aircraft and by the time the blockade was lifted 79 people had
paid the price of freedom with their lives.
If many thought their problems were over when the blockade was
lifted they were to be sadly disappointed. In 1949 the division
of Germany and of Berlin was formalised with Western Germany becoming
the Federal Republic of Germany with Bonn, on the river Rhine,
as its capital. The Eastern Zone became the German Democaratic
Republic with East Berlin as its capital. There was still fairly
easy movement, between the 2 areas of Berlin, until 1951 when,
suddenly, West Berliners needed permits to leave the city. As
time passed and it was perceived that West Berliners enjoyed a
much better standard of living and freedom than their counterparts
in East Berlin there was civil unrest and demands for reform within
the Eastern sectors. More and more East Berliners were making
the move into the west of the city. To stem the flood, in the
dark of the night of 13th August 1961, building of the infamous
'Wall' began. The feelings of disbelief turned to anger as formal
protests from western governments and demonstrations in West Berlin
were completely ignored by the Soviet authorities. West Berlin
was an island of freedom in a sea of oppression as the 'Cold War'
between east and west became more intense. Before the wall came
down, almost 3 decades later, almost 200 East Germans had been
killed whilst trying to escape to the West; many killed in acts
of wanton cruelty and barbarism.
Despite the odds, and tightening restrictions, West Berlin continued
to thrive and progress and East Germans to defect to the West
whenever the slimmest opportunities presented themselves. Facing
the inevitable on 9th November 1989 a stunned East Germany was
informed, in a television broadcast, that restrictions on travel
to the west had been lifted. Berliners from East and West dashed
to the checkpoints in the Wall and came together with champagne
and tears watched by the bemused border guards.
Yet more talks and changes for the people of Germany and, in
particular the citizens of Berlin followed. In 1990 the now united
of Berlin was declared a city-state and, later that same year,
a treaty was signed in Moscow, by the Great Powers, ending postwar
occupation zones and opening the way for reunification. One month
later East Germany was formally dissolved and Germany was whole
again. The following year the Bundestag voted to bring Berlin
back to her status as Germany's capital city.
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