Berlin on the Brink: The Blockade, the Airlift, and the Early Cold War

Images

Enemies: An Eighth Air Force B-17 flies over Tempelhof airfield during a March 1944 air raid. Just over four years later, the airfield would serve as the linchpin of the U.S. Air Force’s airlift into the city. (U.S. Air Force photograph, courtesy of History Office, U.S. Air Forces in Europe) Friends: Presidential aide Harry Hopkins (civilian at right) and his wife Louise (center) tour Hitler’s ruined capital, June 7, 1945. Their guide, Soviet General Vasily Sokolovsky (arm in arm with Louise), would impose the Berlin blockade in June 1948. (Courtesy of Franklin D. Roosevelt Library) Berliners on the Potsdamer Platz, July 1945. (Courtesy of Harry S. Truman Library) The victors at Potsdam, August 1, 1945. Seated, left to right: British Prime Minister Clement R. Attlee, U.S. President Harry S. Truman, and chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars Joseph V. Stalin. Standing, left to right: U.S. Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin, U.S. Secretary of State James F. Byrnes, and People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav M. Molotov. (U.S. Army photograph, courtesy of Harry S. Truman Library) Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson (right) swears in George C. Marshall (left) as secretary of state, January 20, 1947. President Truman and members of his cabinet look on. Nearly two years later, some expected Vinson to be Marshall’s successor. (National Park Service photograph, courtesy of Harry S. Truman Library ) This photograph of U.S. Military Governor General Lucius D. Clay conveys some of his intensity. (U.S. Army photograph, courtesy of History Office, U.S. Air Forces in Europe) Tempelhof from the air. (U.S. Air Force photograph, courtesy of USAF History Support Office) (Above) By July 1, when this photo was taken at Tempelhof, the airlift was operating around the clock. (U.S. Air Force photograph, courtesy of Library of Congress) (Below) Air Commodore Reginald Waite (left) explains airlift operations at RAF Gatow to British Military Governor Sir Brian H. Robertson, July 6, 1948. (Courtesy of Alliierten Museum, Berlin) RAF Yorks deliver their cargoes at RAF Gatow in assembly-line fashion. (Courtesy of USAF History Support Office) A Coastal Command Short Sunderland flying boat takes on cargo at Berlin’s Havel See. (Courtesy of History Office, U.S. Air Forces in Europe) An Avro Lancastrian operated by Flight Refueling, Limited, discharges fuel at RAF Gatow. Aircraft like this one delivered liquid fuels for civilian use in Berlin from July 1948 to August 1949. (Courtesy of USAF History Support Office) A C-54 on final approach at Tempelhof airfield. (U.S. Air Force photograph, courtesy of History Office, U.S. Air Forces in Europe) As official historian Elizabeth Lay points out, nearly every pound of cargo delivered during the Berlin airlift traveled part of the way on a man’s back. Here, an unloading crew manhandles bags of flour from a C-54 while a U.S. soldier inventories the cargo. (U.S. Air Force photograph, courtesy of History Office, U.S. Air Forces in Europe) The spirit of blockaded Berlin can be seen in the faces of this crew, which held the record for the fastest unloading time. (U.S. Air Force photograph, courtesy of History Office, U.S. Air Forces in Europe) (Above left) USAF Lieutenant Gail S. Halvorsen, the “Candy Bomber.” (U.S. Air Force photograph, courtesy of History Office, U.S. Air Forces in Europe) (Above right) Airlift commander Major General William H. Tunner. (U.S. Air Force photograph, courtesy of USAF History Support Office) Jake Schuffert’s cartoon in the February 24, 1949, issue of Task Force Times would come to life during the “Easter Parade,” when airlift commander William Tunner goaded competing commanders to greater efforts. (Courtesy of Berlin Airlift Veterans Association) ...