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HIS CW-4 BERLIN

Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
 
 
Three years after the end of World War II, the Nazis' former capital, Berlin, would once again find itself the target of an allied air fleet. This time, the air armada was working to save, rather than destroy, the city.

DIVIDED GERMANY
Following World War II, Germany is divided into four zones of occupation -- Soviet, British, French and American. Germany, and Berlin in particular, are the only places where communist and Western forces come into direct contact.		nar001-1.jpg
The city of Berlin is inside the Soviet sector and it is also divided into four zones. Three and a half million Berliners live deep inside Soviet lines. The Nazis' once-proud capital, reduced to a pile of rubble by Allied anger, is down to its bare essentials. The people of Berlin are starving and the Soviets will not allow the other nations to come into the city. To get to the city the other nations have to go through the Soviet zone.
 

 1. 
How many zones was Germany divided into after WWII?
a.
2
c.
4
b.
3
d.
5
 

 2. 
Which of the following countries had zones in Germany
a.
British
d.
French
b.
American
e.
Each of these countries had a zone
c.
Soviet
 

 3. 
The city of Berlin was also divided into four zones. Where was the city of Berlin located?
a.
Inside the British zone
c.
Inside the Soviet zone
b.
Inside the American Zone
d.
Inside the French zone
 

 4. 
Why was it a problem for the city of Berlin to be inside the Soviet zone?
a.
The Western allies had to go through the Soviet zone to get to Berlin
c.
Berlin was the former capital of Germany
b.
There were no good roads into Berlin
d.
There were many Nazi’s living there.
 

 5. 
Why was Germany, and especially Berlin, a very dangerous place for world peace in the late 1940’s?
a.
Stalin made a new non-aggression pact with Germany
c.
The Soviets were threatening to drop an atomic bomb on the city.
b.
The Nazi’s were still very powerful in Germany and many Germans wanted a war with the Soviet Union and the Allies
d.
It was the only place where Western and Soviet troops were in direct contact and any spark could set off a war.
 

 6. 
What was the “allied anger” that reduced the city of Berlin to a pile of rubble?
a.
Missile attacks by the Soviet Union
c.
Bombing by Moslem extremists
b.
French troops went on a rampage in Berlin after the war
d.
Round the clock bombing by Britain and the U.S.
 
 
CURRENCY REFORM
In June 1948, an announcement by the Western Allies brings a crisis to Berlin. They establish a currency reform meant to wipe out the German black market and further tie the vulnerable German economy to the West. The Soviets are not told and are infuriated by the action. Moscow says Berlin is located in the Soviet zone and therefore "economically forms part of it."
Sir Brian Robertson, the British military governor in Berlin, along with his U.S. counterpart, Gen. Lucius Clay, respond by introducing a special version of a new German currency, the deutschmark, stamped with a "B" for Berlin.
 

 7. 
Why did the Western allies introduce a new form of money (the deutschmark) into Germany?
a.
help to tie Germany to the West instead of the Soviets
c.
control the Black Market
b.
all of these reasons
d.
improve the economy of Germany
 

 8. 
The Russians were did not want the people of Berlin to use the new money because Berlin was in their sector. What did the allies do to the money used in Berlin to pacify the Russians?
a.
Went back to the old money that Germany was using.
c.
let the Russians use Russian money instead of German money
b.
The allies did nothing to pacify the Soviets
d.
stamped a B on the back of the money
 
 
AIRLIFT
On Thursday, June 24, 1948, West Berlin wakes to find itself under a Soviet blockade -- and in the midst of the first major confrontation of the Cold War. The Soviets block all of the roads and railroads so the Allies can not get to the city. The people in Berlin are close to starvation and there is no fuel to heat their homes. The Western Allies impose a counter-blockade on the Soviet zone. The Soviets hope to starve the West out of Berlin.
President Truman was faced with a problem. If the West tried to crash through the Soviet blockade it might set off a new war. If we do nothing the city of Berlin will come under the domination of the Communists.
The West had been through a similar short-term Soviet blockade of Berlin two months earlier -- and had responded with an airlift using air corridors set up in a 1945 agreement with the Soviets. President Truman vows that we will not be driven out of Berlin. New plans are drawn up -- for long-term replenishment of West Berlin from the air. The Berlin Airlift has begun.
 

 9. 
How did the Soviets blockade the city of Berlin?
a.
closed all air traffic to the city
c.
sent tanks to attack the Western Allies
b.
closed all roads and railroad traffic
d.
the Soviets did not blockade Berlin
 

 10. 
Why didn’t the Western Allies just wait it out until the Soviets got tired of blocking traffic to the city?
a.
the people of Berlin wanted to be part of the Communist block
c.
the people of Berlin were starving and there was no fuel for heating
b.
the Soviets were getting ready to attack with their superior tank force.
d.
the Western Allies had no patience
 

 11. 
Who made the decision to send supplies into Berlin by airplane?
a.
Winston Churchill
c.
Joseph Stalin
b.
The French
d.
Harry Truman
 

 12. 
Why was President Truman concerned about the Berlin blockade by the Soviet Union?
a.
The people of Berlin were starving
c.
There was a chance of a new World War with the Soviets
b.
The people of Berlin had no fuel
d.
Truman was concerned about all of these.
 

 13. 
When did the Berlin blockade start
a.
June, 1948
c.
July, 1945
b.
June, 1949
d.
August, 1946
 
 
NEW ALLIES
The Berlin airlift brings a new mindset to the Western Allies, who start thinking of West Germany as an ally, rather than an occupied territory. In West Berlin, the airlift brings people sustenance and hope. In one memorable instance, the airlift -- in the form of American pilot Gail Halvorsen -- rains candy on West Berlin's desperate children.
As it becomes evident that the Soviets are not going to back down from their blockade, the Western Allies consider how to expand their airlift operations. Larger cargo planes are brought in, as well as bombers with cargo capacity
 

 14. 
What was the important new attitude in the West caused by the Berlin blockade?
a.
The West started to think of Germany as a new ally rather than an occupied country.
c.
The West got tired of helping the people of Europe
b.
The West got tired of helping the German people
d.
Americans wished they had just backed down when the Soviets blocked Berlin
 

 15. 
When the Soviets refuse to back down from the blockade, what do the Americans do?
a.
Try to find a way out of the situation
c.
Order bigger planes to expand the airlift
b.
Give up and withdraw their troops
d.
Ask the French to take over the airlift
 

 16. 
What does the airlift bring to the German people in Berlin?
a.
fear and starvation
c.
anger and resentment against the West
b.
food and optimism
d.
hatred of Americans
 
 
nar005-1.jpgWEST-EAST
Berliners are still free to move around their city, despite the Soviet blockade. While West Berlin is suffering through shortages of electricity and other essentials, the eastern sector offers a relatively normal lifestyle. Politically, however, the city is on edge.
Soviet troops harass West Berliners who go to the eastern zone. And in September, a communist attempt to take over the city council sparks mass protests -- which end in violence. It is obvious that the people of West Berlin do not want to be part of the Soviet Bloc
 

 17. 
How is life in West Berlin during the blockade?
a.
the same as life in East Berlin (Russian Sector)
c.
Peaceful and quiet
b.
Hard - little food, fuel or energy
d.
Happy - go - lucky
 

 18. 
Why is Berlin on edge,politically, during the blockade?
a.
The German political parties hate each other.
c.
The Soviets are trying to take over the city and make it part of the Communist bloc
b.
Germans do not like politics
d.
The city is not on edge politically
 

 19. 
What is true about the people of Berlin”
a.
They want to be part of the Soviet bloc
c.
They do not like Americans
b.
They want to be part of the Western bloc
d.
They fear Americans
 

 20. 
How did the Soviet troops treat the people of West Berlin?
a.
The troops harassed them
c.
They ignored them
b.
With kindness and understanding
d.
Soviet troops were not near the people of West Berlin.
 

 21. 
Look at the map above. The Soviet flag is at the
a.
bottom of the map
c.
middle left of the map
b.
top left of the map
d.
top right of the map
 

 22. 
Look at the map above. The British flag is at the
a.
bottom of the map
c.
top left of the map
b.
top right of the map
d.
middle left of the map
 
 
BLOCKADE ENDS
The Soviet Union ends its blockade of Berlin on May 12, 1949. A month earlier, at the airlift's peak, Western cargo planes were landing at one of Berlin's three airports at a rate of one every 62 seconds. By the time the airlift ended, more than 275,000 flights had carried 2.3 million tons of supplies to Berlin -- an effort that went down in history as an aviation and logistical feat.
At least 79 people, including 31 Americans, 39 British and nine Germans, had lost their lives, mostly in plane crashes. But the confrontation proved to be only the opening act in the decades-long Cold War.
 

 23. 
Was the Berlin Airlift successful?
a.
yes
c.
Can’t tell from the text.
b.
no
 

 24. 
The Berlin airlift
a.
marked the end of the Cold War
c.
was not part of the Cold War
b.
marked only at the beginning of the Cold War
d.
was caused by the Germans
 

 25. 
The Berlin airlift
a.
was a victory for the Soviets
c.
was a victory for the Americans
b.
was a defeat for the West
d.
was a defeat for West Berlin
 



 
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