The Berlin Airlift: What it all Meant

 Impressive as the logistical achievements of the Berlin Airlift were, they were only the bi-product and not the objectives of the entire operation. The Berlin Airlift was from its inception a political rather than a military response. Logically, the perceptions of the Airlift and its significance have changed over time in accordance with the political situation in Europe. At a time when some experts suggest that a Chinese move against Taiwan might take the shape of a blockade or siege rather than an invasion, it is useful to reflect on what the Berlin Airlift has meant and what lessons it still holds -- despite the altered political environment.

 

In the immediate aftermath of the Airlift, as the U.S. and the Soviet Union confronted one another more and more openly around the globe, the Airlift was seen first and foremost as a Western Victory in the Cold War. Even though nothing had really been achieved but the status-quo ante, the Soviet advance had been halted and this seemed like a vitally important victory at the time. The ideological fault-line now clearly ran through the heart of Germany, and Berlin had become an outpost of “Freedom” in a sea of totalitarian oppression. Not only had the Airlift preserved that outpost and beacon, the dramatic and unwavering preference of the Berliners for Freedom over Communism – even at the price of significant hardship – became legendary. RIAS, “a Free Voice of the Free World,” seemed to embody this spirit as did the cabaret “The Islanders.”

The decade and a half following the end of the Airlift was also a period in which West Germany attained reconciliation with the hereditary enemy France and was integrated into the Western system of Alliances, both military and economic. In those early years of the Federal Republic of Germany, Germany was “rehabilitated” and throughout this period the Airlift was remembered and valued as the catalyst for the transformation of the former German enemy into an Ally.

 

But as a new generation came to maturity in the late 1960s, the Vietnam War tarnished America’s image as the defender of justice and freedom. Focus shifted to the negative aspects of the Airlift. It was conceded that the Airlift had saved two million civilians from being annexed into the Soviet Zone against their will, but it was also the cause of the – then apparently irrevocable – division of Germany. People noted that not only had enemies been turned into allies, but brothers had been turned into enemies. 

 

The Wall that by then ran through and surrounded Berlin was deadly and cruel. Voices were raised that said: well, yes, the Airlift seemed like a good thing at the time, but are we sure there wasn’t another way? Weren’t the Western Allies too quick to reject Soviet peace proposals, too quick to go their own way, too bigoted to give joint government a chance? Is it really better to be dead than Red? Indeed, is Real Existing Socialism really all that bad? After all East Germany has Day Care and Equality between the Sexes and only the Americans have ever used an Atom bomb….

 

Then the Wall came down in 1989 and German Reunification followed a peaceful rebellion in East Germany. The Airlift abruptly regained its significance and acquired new appeal. Suddenly the words of Ernst Reuter seemed prophetic – for he had said the job would not be finished until the East Berliners too were free. In 1990 they finally were. The 50^th Anniversary of the Airlift was celebrated in the knowledge that the Berlin Airlift had played a critical role in keeping the U.S. engaged in Europe and enabling West Germany to become a powerful and prosperous country. Without both these factors, especially West German economic recovery and the coveted DM, the revolution in East Germany would not have been possible either.

In short, the Airlift was again perceived as being on the “right” side of history. Rather than being a contributor to the division of Germany, the Airlift was credited with contributing to German reunification. It had furthermore ensured that there was a sovereign, independent and democratic Germany capable of playing an active role in international politics rather than an emasculated, satellite state dependent on outside help as in the case of the other colonies of the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe.

 

Today, eighty years after the end of the Airlift, a generation is reaching maturity that cannot remember the Division of Germany and knows of the Soviet Union only from history books. The end of the Cold War has reduced the significance of the Berlin Airlift, and public attention is focused on new enemies and new wars. The Berlin Airlift may not appear to have any particular relevance to the wars in Ukraine or Gaza.

Yet there are “Lessons Learned” that should not be overlooked in our haste to turn our attention and resources to new battles. The Berlin Airlift was first and foremost a means of resisting aggression without war. Yet while the Airlift was peaceful, it was also forceful and entailed most decidedly NOT giving in to pressure. It entailed a determined and dramatic dedication of resources – regardless the cost — to a cause worth fighting for.

 

The Airlift was, furthermore, a successful collaborative effort between Allies, in which each partner brought special skills and made a unique contribution. All participants report that British and Americans worked well together, respected and – if one excludes the food at RAF stations — enjoyed working together. 

 Yet perhaps the most significant achievement of the Airlift was the inspiring example it set for transforming a spontaneous and improvised stop-gap measure into a highly efficient and almost painfully precise operation. From Air Commodore Waite with his rough calculations to Lt. Halvorsen with his handkerchief parachutes for chocolate bars, the Airlift owes much of its success to the initiatives of subordinates, overcoming the scepticism of their superiors. 

 So much of what made the Airlift succeed was experimental – whether it was straight-in approaches and one-way traffic, streams of aircraft flying in blocks, or crushing rubble and re-melting pavement to build runways. Tunner might have been the world’s leading expert in aviation transport at the time, but he was always prowling around and asking his subordinates for suggestions on how to make things better.

The Airlift wasn’t a General Staff Plan executed perfectly like the German offensive against the West in 1940. It was a spontaneous response to a crisis in which, due to the over-all support for the action even at the lowest level, everyone involved was willing to give his or her best. From the Berliners preferring “Pom” in the West to fresh potatoes in the East to the cooks keeping the Messes open 24 hours a day, it was very much the ordinary men and women involved in the Berlin Airlift who ensured its success. They should all be remembered.

 

The Berlin Airlift is the subject of Bridge to Tomorrow, a trilogy of novels starting with Cold Peace and continuing with Cold War.

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