Summary of Iain MacGregor's Checkpoint Charlie

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#1 When the Second World War in Europe ended, Berlin was left in ruins. The city was divided into four sectors of occupation by the Allied forces, one each by the four victors. The euphoria of victory gave way to paranoia, confrontation, and hostility between the Western powers and Josef Stalin, who schemed to ensure Germany would remain divided as part of an Eastern European buffer to protect Russia from future attacks.

#2 The Berlin Blockade began in 1948, and the city was isolated and vulnerable. The Americans and their allies responded with a three-hundred-day airlift, the biggest in aviation history, to keep the city alive.

#3 The Berlin Blockade was finally over on May 11, 1949, and the city was opened up to travel again. The Berliners were suspicious of previous agreements signed by the Soviets, but they were still grateful to their Western protectors.

#4 In 1953, the East German government under Nikita Khrushchev attempted to quell any dissent by intimidation, driving through towns and villages in long convoys of armored cars and tanks. But there was a sizable portion of the country’s population that felt comfortable under Soviet occupation.

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