Final answer:
Joseph Stalin was restricting access to all land and water routes into West Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, which began in June 1948. The blockade was intended to force the Western Allies to abandon their sectors of the city. The US response, known as the Berlin Airlift, successfully supplied the city and led to Stalin lifting the blockade in May 1949.
Step-by-step explanation:
During the Berlin Blockade, Joseph Stalin was restricting access to all land and water routes into the US, British, and French sectors of Berlin. This blockade began in June 1948, when Stalin ordered the cessation of all traffic to and from these sectors, hoping to force the Western powers to abandon their post-World War II recovery efforts in West Berlin and potentially give up their western sectors of the city. The blockade was a critical moment in the early stages of the Cold War, representing a direct confrontation between the Soviet Union and the Western Allies, specifically the US, over the future of Germany and the ideologically divided city of Berlin.
In response to the blockade, the United States, under President Harry Truman, initiated the Berlin Airlift, flying in supplies to maintain the survival and well-being of the individuals in the blockaded sectors. This was a strategic move that not only helped the citizens of West Berlin but also served as a display of American capability and resolve. Eventually, seeing the success of the airlift and recognizing that the blockade would not achieve its intended outcome, Stalin lifted the blockade in May 1949.