Today in 1949, the Berlin airlift officially ended after the delivery of over 2.3 million tons of food, fuel, and other supplies to West Berlin by the United States and the United Kingdom.
After World War II, Germany was split into four zones, each run by the four major Allied powers, Great Britain, France, Russia, and the United States. The country’s historical capital, Berlin, was in the area controlled by the Soviet Union and was also split into zones controlled by each Allied country.
The zones worked cooperatively for a while, but trust broke down completely in early 1948 when Russia figured out that the other three countries were planning to combine their zones into one country. In June of that year, the USSR blocked off all roads, railways and waterways into West Berlin.
In response, the U.S. and U.K. began a massive effort to fly supplies like food, fuel, and medicine into West Berlin to support over 2 million of the city’s residents. It remains one of the largest humanitarian efforts ever, with over 189,000 aid flights made by American aircraft.
In May 1949, the Soviets lifted their blockade, having failed to end the Western presence in Berlin or the unification of West Germany, and fostered even closer ties between the Western powers. For more on the Berlin airlift, see these articles from the Department of Defense and History.com.
