What caused the Berlin blockade crisis of 1948? Why was Stalin forced to abandon the plan that could have cost the lives of thousands living in divided Berlin or started another war?

While Hitler’s armies marched deep into Soviet territory, Stalin had a shocking response — bomb Berlin. In one of WWII’s most overlooked offensives, the Soviets proved they weren’t ready to surrender.

The Berlin Airlift - in answer to the so-called Berlin Blockade instituted by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin - makes sure Americans living in West Berlin can get their groceries.

Eventually, Stalin agrees to lift the blockade on condition that the Russian mark be Berlin’s sole currency.

Meanwhile, Berlin, the beleaguered “island in the Red sea,” was reminding the Western powers that, come Stalin, come Khrushchev, the underlying goals of Soviet foreign policy remain the same.

BBC news reporter Patrick Smith explains the atmosphere in Berlin as the Soviet blockade takes hold.

A Soviet blockade of the three western sectors of Berlin started on June 24 1948. At that point, the city, like the rest of Germany, was split into areas of Russian, British, US and French control as ...