Documents on British Policy Overseas, Series III, Vol.VI: Berlin in the Cold War, 1948-1990

Abstract

Berlin in the Cold War is a mine of information about the role played by Berlin in shaping British policy towards the Soviet bloc and West Germany. The documents themselves are presented on DVD. This is not the first volume in the series to make use of DVD, and although many readers might prefer a printed format, there are obvious advantages in DVD where such a large amount of documentation is involved. Even more important is the fact that more than a third of the 1,529 pages of archival material relate to a period beyond the limitations of the thirty-year rule. Series III has introduced this innovation, for which historians will be grateful, and the editors and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are to be congratulated on it. The documents are divided into three periods. The first begins with the Soviet blockade of West Berlin in June 1948. Berlin, lying deep in Soviet-controlled territory, appeared to be the Western Powers’ Achilles heel. The legal basis of their position in the capital was somewhat flimsy. More important was the city's apparent dependence on its Soviet-controlled hinterland and the fact that all land and water-based traffic could be easily blocked by the Red Army. The British Military Governor, Sir Brian Robertson, was deeply pessimistic about the chances of holding on to Berlin. He feared that expressions of determination to stay put would be followed by a humiliating climb-down that would be disastrous for the Western Allies.