Operation Santa Claus – A Forgotten Moment in History
Nowadays, "Operation Santa Claus" is associated with a USPS program to match letters to Santa with donors of gifts for kids. During the Russian blockade of Berlin 1948-1949, the children of Berlin didn't dream of writing to Santa Claus. The situation was too grim. Santa came anyways. December 1948 was a bleak time for the children of Berlin. The city was under siege. No food, clothing, medicines or coal could reach the city by land and everything from flour and milk to toilet paper and detergent had to be flown in on the small propeller planes of the day. The coal to run the power plants, factories and heat the ovens of the city also had to be flown in, as did diesel, gasoline and kerosene to run busses, lorries and cooking, lighting and heating. As a result, public transport worked just twelve hours a day, and there was no gasoline or diesel to run private vehicles. The civilian population received electricity just two hours out of every twenty-fou...