Korean War and Berlin Crisis: Causes and Consequences
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Korean War: A Conflict in the Cold War
The Korean War was fought on the Korean peninsula from June 1950 to July 1953. It began as a conflict between South Korea (Republic of Korea) and North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), after the latter invaded the former's territories. The conflict quickly escalated into a limited international war involving the United States and 19 other nations. From a broader perspective, the Korean War was a result of the Cold War. The reasons for North Korea's invasion of South Korea were related to the boundary set at the 38th parallel, as well as international circumstances. Contrary to initial claims, North Korea apparently attacked South Korea without the knowledge of the Soviet Union or the People's Republic of China (PRC). The Soviet Union, anticipating the war at a later time, boycotted the United Nations Organization (UNO) action when the attack occurred. China's communist government, meanwhile, hoped to invade Taiwan without U.S. military intervention.
The Berlin Crisis: A City Divided
The Berlin Crisis emerged after World War II, when Germany was divided into occupation zones controlled by the U.S., Soviet Union, Britain, and France. Berlin, though located within the Soviet zone, became an independent region. This agreement symbolized that the city continued its role as the capital of a Germany that was still considered a single country. However, in 1948, soon after the disintegration of the four-power administration of former East Germany, the administration of Berlin also ended. The USSR, claiming that Berlin had lost its status as the capital of a unified Germany and should therefore be incorporated into the Soviet area, tried to expel Western institutions from their respective sectors by blocking access roads to this part of Berlin. This attempt failed due to a massive airlift organized for over eleven months. Despite this, the city remained divided. East Berlin, maintained by the Soviets, later joined the German Democratic Republic, while West Berlin remained an independent territory with its own government and close economic and cultural ties with the Federal Republic of Germany (also known as West Germany).