June 24: The Berlin Blockade and the Airlift That Fed a City

On June 24, 1948, Soviet forces blocked road, rail, and water access to West Berlin, cutting off the city from supplies coming from the western zones of Germany. West Berlin was located deep inside Soviet-controlled territory, but it was still occupied by the United States, Great Britain, and France after World War II. The blockade created one of the first major crises of the Cold War because nearly two million people in West Berlin depended on outside supplies for food, fuel, medicine, and basic survival.