InNo+seank2013+4.13.11

The goal of the Marshall plan was to promote European economic recovery and thus halt the political destabilization that economic hardship was causing.
 * The Marshall Plan**

New currency, Deutsch mark, appeared in West Berlin on June 23. The next day, the Soviets cut off all shipments of food, fuel and other vital supplies that kept West Berlin alive.
 * Berlin Airlift**

The allies' protests were ignored by the soviets, and so they resolved to a massive airlift to carry supplies to West Berlin which began on June 26.

By May 12, when the Soviets finally lifted their blockade, West Berlin became a symbol of US resolve to counter Soviet aggression without resorting to direct conflict.

According to Kennan's theory of containment, to which Truman
 * Nato and the Warsaw Pact**