Lesson Y9-U07-L03

Berlin Blockade, Airlift and the Wall Quiz: KS3 History, Unit 20

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson Y9-U07-L03, Berlin Blockade, Airlift and the Wall: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 History (National Curriculum), Unit 20: Year 9: The Cold War, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. In 1945 how was Germany divided after the Second World War?

    • Into four occupation zones, controlled by the USA, Britain, France and the USSR
    • It was not divided but ruled by the United Nations from the capital city
    • Into three zones, controlled by Britain, France and Italy after the peace
    • Into two halves, controlled by the USA and USSR after a short war

  2. Why was West Berlin an 'island' inside communist territory?

    • It was an island in the middle of a river
    • It had been cut off from Germany by mountains
    • It was surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean
    • It lay about 100 miles inside the Soviet zone

  3. Why was supplying West Berlin difficult?

    • The only land routes ran through Soviet-controlled territory
    • Trains were too expensive for the Allies to run across the zones
    • The Allies had no supplies to send because their factories were closed
    • West Berlin had no airports at all and no runways for large planes

  4. What new currency did the Western Allies introduce in June 1948?

    • The Franc
    • The Deutschmark
    • The Rouble
    • The Reichsmark

  5. Why did Stalin feel threatened by the new currency in the West?

    • He feared a strong, capitalist Germany on his border
    • He feared the currency would be used by the Nazis
    • He wanted the West to pay reparations in roubles
    • He wanted to adopt the currency for the USSR

  6. When did Stalin cut off road, rail and canal links into West Berlin?

    • 1 September 1939
    • 9 November 1938
    • 24 June 1948
    • 13 August 1961

  7. What was Stalin's main aim in the Berlin Blockade?

    • To invade West Germany with tanks along the Autobahn near Hanover
    • To hand West Berlin to Britain in return for a trade agreement
    • To starve West Berlin until the Allies gave it up
    • To buy West Berlin from the Allies at a fixed price in roubles

  8. Why did Stalin not attack West Berlin with his army?

    • An open attack could start a third world war
    • The West had already surrendered
    • The Red Army had no tanks in 1948
    • Stalin had agreed to give Berlin to the West

  9. What was the Berlin Airlift?

    • A rail link built across the Soviet zone to carry coal and food
    • Flying Soviet troops out of East Berlin to a base in the Baltic region
    • A ferry service carrying supplies across the Baltic to Hamburg each week
    • Flying supplies into West Berlin by aeroplane when the roads were blocked

  10. Between which dates did the Berlin Airlift run?

    • 13 August 1961 to 9 November 1989
    • 24 June 1948 to 26 June 1948
    • 26 June 1948 to 12 May 1949
    • 1 September 1939 to 8 May 1945

  11. Roughly how often did a plane land in West Berlin at the Airlift's peak?

    • About every 90 seconds
    • About every 9 minutes
    • About every 9 hours
    • About every 90 minutes

  12. About how many tonnes of supplies were flown into West Berlin during the Airlift?

    • Around 23 million tonnes
    • Around 2.3 million tonnes
    • Around 230,000 tonnes
    • Around 2.3 thousand tonnes

  13. Why could Stalin not stop the Airlift without a war?

    • The Airlift was protected by the United Nations and its security forces
    • He would have had to shoot down the planes, which was an act of war
    • The air corridors were owned by Britain and leased to the American air force
    • The planes flew too high for Soviet guns to reach them over Berlin

  14. How did the Berlin Blockade end?

    • Stalin admitted defeat and lifted the blockade in May 1949
    • The West gave up West Berlin to the USSR in a secret treaty in Paris
    • The Allies invaded East Germany with tanks and seized the Soviet zone
    • The USA dropped an atomic bomb on Berlin to end the stand-off quickly

  15. Between 1949 and 1961 roughly how many East Germans fled to the West through Berlin?

    • About 27,000
    • About 270,000
    • About 27 million
    • About 2.7 million

  16. Why was the refugee flow a serious problem for East Germany?

    • It was flooded with foreign tourists who spent money on hotels
    • It gained too many soldiers from the West who defected to its side
    • It lost many skilled workers, such as doctors and engineers
    • It had to share its land with the Allies under a joint treaty

  17. Why could East Germany not simply close the border the normal way in 1961?

    • The border was guarded by the United Nations with observers on watch
    • There was no border between East and West Berlin on the old maps
    • Berlin was an open city with no fence, so people could walk across
    • The Allies had already built a wall in 1949 to separate the two sectors

  18. What happened in Berlin on 13 August 1961?

    • The Allies signed a peace treaty with the USSR in a Berlin ceremony
    • Barbed wire went up overnight and began to divide the city
    • The Reichstag was reopened to East Berliners and their families
    • The Airlift ended and planes stopped flying into the city for good

  19. How long did the Berlin Wall stand?

    • About 8 years
    • About 28 years
    • About 50 years
    • About 14 years

  20. Why was the Berlin Wall both a solution and an embarrassment for the Soviets?

    • It ended the Cold War instantly and removed the superpowers' rivalry
    • It allowed East Germans to travel freely to the West for work and study
    • It stopped the refugee flow, but showed East Germany needed walls to keep its people
    • It proved communism was winning the economic race against the West

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