Intellectual and Cultural Life in Blockaded Berlin
The shops and cafes were empty. Unemployment was rampant. Lighting and heat were rationed, and yet ... Sporting events still took place, there were live concerts, the theaters and opera continued to offer performances, the cabarets flourished and so did the nightclubs. Indeed, despite the hardships encountered in daily life, blockaded Berlin remained an intellectual and cultural centre and even gave rise to a new university! Yet arguably nothing was more important than the news. Not only did a variety of newspapers continue to circulate, but the popular "Radio in the American Sector" radio station (below) became an iconic symbol of West Berlin's spirit as a "free voice of the free world." It was vitally important to keeping people not only informed but entertained -- and laughing. The introduction of the Blockade was the final straw leading to a revolt by leading professors and thousands of students, who refused to continue teaching or learning in a Univers...