The Berlin Airlift

The Berlin Airlift

Author: Barry Turner

Publisher: Icon Books

Published: 2017-10-05

Total Pages: 215

ISBN-13: 178578255X

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Acclaimed historian Barry Turner presents a new history of the Cold War's defining episode. Berlin, 1948 – a divided city in a divided country in a divided Europe. The ruined German capital lay 120 miles inside Soviet-controlled eastern Germany. Stalin wanted the Allies out; the Allies were determined to stay, but had only three narrow air corridors linking the city to the West. Stalin was confident he could crush Berlin's resolve by cutting off food and fuel. In the USA, despite some voices still urging 'America first', it was believed that a rebuilt Germany was the best insurance against the spread of communism across Europe. And so over eleven months from June 1948 to May 1949, British and American aircraft carried out the most ambitious airborne relief operation ever mounted, flying over 2 million tons of supplies on almost 300,000 flights to save a beleaguered Berlin. With new material from American, British and German archives and original interviews with veterans, Turner paints a fresh, vivid picture the airlift, whose repercussions – the role of the USA as global leader, German ascendancy, Russian threat – we are still living with today.


Book Synopsis The Berlin Airlift by : Barry Turner

Download or read book The Berlin Airlift written by Barry Turner and published by Icon Books. This book was released on 2017-10-05 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Acclaimed historian Barry Turner presents a new history of the Cold War's defining episode. Berlin, 1948 – a divided city in a divided country in a divided Europe. The ruined German capital lay 120 miles inside Soviet-controlled eastern Germany. Stalin wanted the Allies out; the Allies were determined to stay, but had only three narrow air corridors linking the city to the West. Stalin was confident he could crush Berlin's resolve by cutting off food and fuel. In the USA, despite some voices still urging 'America first', it was believed that a rebuilt Germany was the best insurance against the spread of communism across Europe. And so over eleven months from June 1948 to May 1949, British and American aircraft carried out the most ambitious airborne relief operation ever mounted, flying over 2 million tons of supplies on almost 300,000 flights to save a beleaguered Berlin. With new material from American, British and German archives and original interviews with veterans, Turner paints a fresh, vivid picture the airlift, whose repercussions – the role of the USA as global leader, German ascendancy, Russian threat – we are still living with today.


The Berlin Airlift and the Making of the Cold War

The Berlin Airlift and the Making of the Cold War

Author: John M Schuessler

Publisher:

Published: 2022-06-15

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 9781648430602

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For eleven months that spanned 1948 and 1949, cargo aircraft from the air forces of the western Allies carried out one of the most extraordinary feats of peacetime military power projection in history: ferrying supplies to the city of Berlin, then under Soviet blockade. By spring 1949, the Berlin Airlift, initially considered unlikely to succeed, had convinced the Soviets that their efforts to force a solution to Berlin's future were badly miscalculated. The city became a symbol of the escalating division of Europe into competing blocs in a new Cold War order. This largely improvised military action had exerted unforeseen influence on the post-World War II world. The Berlin Airlift and the Making of the Cold War brings together historians and political scientists to explore the origins, course, and impacts of the Berlin Airlift after seventy years. Here, scholars and authorities on the Airlift, its logistics, the great power competition involved, and the position of Berlin within a divided and occupied Central Europe discuss not only the Airlift itself but also the critical role the operation played in shaping the physical and mental landscape of Cold War confrontation in Europe. The Berlin Airlift was just one of a series of decisions and events that shaped the Cold War across a global stage. It was a pivotal moment in the story of how Germany and its people experienced recovery and rebuilding after 1945. This book offers fresh insights into the legacies and lessons of the Airlift in theoretical and historical context.


Book Synopsis The Berlin Airlift and the Making of the Cold War by : John M Schuessler

Download or read book The Berlin Airlift and the Making of the Cold War written by John M Schuessler and published by . This book was released on 2022-06-15 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For eleven months that spanned 1948 and 1949, cargo aircraft from the air forces of the western Allies carried out one of the most extraordinary feats of peacetime military power projection in history: ferrying supplies to the city of Berlin, then under Soviet blockade. By spring 1949, the Berlin Airlift, initially considered unlikely to succeed, had convinced the Soviets that their efforts to force a solution to Berlin's future were badly miscalculated. The city became a symbol of the escalating division of Europe into competing blocs in a new Cold War order. This largely improvised military action had exerted unforeseen influence on the post-World War II world. The Berlin Airlift and the Making of the Cold War brings together historians and political scientists to explore the origins, course, and impacts of the Berlin Airlift after seventy years. Here, scholars and authorities on the Airlift, its logistics, the great power competition involved, and the position of Berlin within a divided and occupied Central Europe discuss not only the Airlift itself but also the critical role the operation played in shaping the physical and mental landscape of Cold War confrontation in Europe. The Berlin Airlift was just one of a series of decisions and events that shaped the Cold War across a global stage. It was a pivotal moment in the story of how Germany and its people experienced recovery and rebuilding after 1945. This book offers fresh insights into the legacies and lessons of the Airlift in theoretical and historical context.


Berlin on the Brink

Berlin on the Brink

Author: Daniel F. Harrington

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky

Published: 2012-05-15

Total Pages: 434

ISBN-13: 081313613X

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This study examines the 'Berlin question' from its origin in wartime plans for the occupation of Germany to the Paris Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in 1949. Tracing the blockade's origins, it explains why British and American planners during the Second World War neglected Western access to post-war Berlin and why Western officials did little to reduce Berlin's vulnerability as Cold War tensions increased.


Book Synopsis Berlin on the Brink by : Daniel F. Harrington

Download or read book Berlin on the Brink written by Daniel F. Harrington and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2012-05-15 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study examines the 'Berlin question' from its origin in wartime plans for the occupation of Germany to the Paris Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in 1949. Tracing the blockade's origins, it explains why British and American planners during the Second World War neglected Western access to post-war Berlin and why Western officials did little to reduce Berlin's vulnerability as Cold War tensions increased.


The Berlin Airlift

The Berlin Airlift

Author: Michael Burgan

Publisher: Capstone

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 50

ISBN-13: 0756534860

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Discusses the hardships West Berlin residents faced during a period in which Western Allies (United States, United Kingdom, France) attempted to deliver aid to a city devastated by war and political turmoil. The success of the airlift kept Berlin free from total Soviet occupation until the eventual reunification of Germany. Features include journal entries, letters, and personal interviews.


Book Synopsis The Berlin Airlift by : Michael Burgan

Download or read book The Berlin Airlift written by Michael Burgan and published by Capstone. This book was released on 2008 with total page 50 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discusses the hardships West Berlin residents faced during a period in which Western Allies (United States, United Kingdom, France) attempted to deliver aid to a city devastated by war and political turmoil. The success of the airlift kept Berlin free from total Soviet occupation until the eventual reunification of Germany. Features include journal entries, letters, and personal interviews.


The Berlin Airlift

The Berlin Airlift

Author: Ann Tusa

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2019-07-23

Total Pages: 636

ISBN-13: 1510740627

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A Simon & Schuster eBook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every reader.


Book Synopsis The Berlin Airlift by : Ann Tusa

Download or read book The Berlin Airlift written by Ann Tusa and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2019-07-23 with total page 636 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Simon & Schuster eBook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every reader.


To Save a City

To Save a City

Author: Roger G. Miller

Publisher: Military Bookshop

Published: 2013-07

Total Pages: 138

ISBN-13: 9781782664260

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Book Synopsis To Save a City by : Roger G. Miller

Download or read book To Save a City written by Roger G. Miller and published by Military Bookshop. This book was released on 2013-07 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


To Save A City: The Berlin Airlift, 1948-1949 [Illustrated Edition]

To Save A City: The Berlin Airlift, 1948-1949 [Illustrated Edition]

Author: Roger G. Miller

Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing

Published: 2015-11-06

Total Pages: 147

ISBN-13: 1786252481

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Includes 30 Illustrations In this expert survey Air Force Historian Robert Miller explores the Epic story of the Berlin Airlift, the confrontation of Democracy and Communism as the world teetered on the brink of the Third World War. The Berlin blockade (24 June 1948;–12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies’ railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under allied control. The Soviets offered to drop the blockade if the Western Allies withdrew the newly introduced Deutschmark from West Berlin. In response, the Western Allies organised the Berlin airlift to carry supplies to the people in West Berlin. Aircrews from the United States Air Force, the British Royal Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal New Zealand Air Force, and the South African Air Force flew over 200,000 flights in one year, providing up to 8,893 tons of necessities daily, such as fuel and food, to the Berliners. Neither side wanted a war; the Soviets did not disrupt the airlift. By the spring of 1949 the airlift was clearly succeeding, and by April it was delivering more cargo than had previously been transported into the city by rail. On 11 May 1949, the USSR lifted the blockade of West Berlin. The Berlin Crisis of 1948–1949 served to highlight competing ideological and economic visions for post-war Europe, particularly Germany. The clash ultimately led to the division of that country into East and West and to the division of Berlin itself.


Book Synopsis To Save A City: The Berlin Airlift, 1948-1949 [Illustrated Edition] by : Roger G. Miller

Download or read book To Save A City: The Berlin Airlift, 1948-1949 [Illustrated Edition] written by Roger G. Miller and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-06 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes 30 Illustrations In this expert survey Air Force Historian Robert Miller explores the Epic story of the Berlin Airlift, the confrontation of Democracy and Communism as the world teetered on the brink of the Third World War. The Berlin blockade (24 June 1948;–12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies’ railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under allied control. The Soviets offered to drop the blockade if the Western Allies withdrew the newly introduced Deutschmark from West Berlin. In response, the Western Allies organised the Berlin airlift to carry supplies to the people in West Berlin. Aircrews from the United States Air Force, the British Royal Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal New Zealand Air Force, and the South African Air Force flew over 200,000 flights in one year, providing up to 8,893 tons of necessities daily, such as fuel and food, to the Berliners. Neither side wanted a war; the Soviets did not disrupt the airlift. By the spring of 1949 the airlift was clearly succeeding, and by April it was delivering more cargo than had previously been transported into the city by rail. On 11 May 1949, the USSR lifted the blockade of West Berlin. The Berlin Crisis of 1948–1949 served to highlight competing ideological and economic visions for post-war Europe, particularly Germany. The clash ultimately led to the division of that country into East and West and to the division of Berlin itself.


The Berlin Blockade

The Berlin Blockade

Author: Walter Phillips Davison

Publisher: Ayer Company Pub

Published: 1980-01-01

Total Pages: 423

ISBN-13: 9780405129636

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Book Synopsis The Berlin Blockade by : Walter Phillips Davison

Download or read book The Berlin Blockade written by Walter Phillips Davison and published by Ayer Company Pub. This book was released on 1980-01-01 with total page 423 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


The Berlin Airlift

The Berlin Airlift

Author: Charles River Charles River Editors

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2018-02-04

Total Pages: 102

ISBN-13: 9781985027114

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*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of the blockade and airlift by Berliners, American officials, and pilots *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents "Here in Berlin, one cannot help being aware that you are the hub around which turns the wheel of history. ... If ever there were a people who should be constantly sensitive to their destiny, the people of Berlin, East and West, should be they." - Martin Luther King, Jr. In the wake of World War II, the European continent was devastated, and the conflict left the Soviet Union and the United States as uncontested superpowers. This ushered in over 45 years of the Cold War, and a political alignment of Western democracies against the Communist Soviet bloc that produced conflicts pitting allies on each sides fighting, even as the American and Soviet militaries never engaged each other. Though it never got "hot" between the two superpowers, the Cold War was a tense era until the dissolution of the USSR, and nothing symbolized the split more than the division of Berlin. Berlin had been a flashpoint even before World War II ended, and the city was occupied by the different Allies even as the close of the war turned them into adversaries. If anyone wondered whether the Cold War would dominate geopolitics, any hopes that it wouldn't were dashed by the Soviets' blockade of West Berlin in April 1948, ostensibly to protest the currency being used in West Berlin but unquestionably aiming to extend their control over Germany's capital. By cutting off all access via roads, rail, and water, the Soviets hoped to force the Allies out, and at the same time, Stalin's action would force a tense showdown that would test their mettle. In response to the blockade, the British, Americans, Canadians, and other Allies had no choice but to either acquiesce or break the blockade by air, hoping (correctly) that the Soviets wouldn't dare shoot down planes being used strictly for civilian purposes. Over the course of the next year, over 200,000 flights were made to bring millions of tons of crucial supplies to West Berlin, with the Allies maintaining a pace of landing a plane in West Berlin every 30 seconds at the height of the Airlift. As the success of the Berlin Airlift became clear, the Soviets realized the blockade was ineffective, and both sides were able to save face by negotiating an end to the blockade in April 1949, with the Soviets ending it officially on May 12. The Airlift would technically continue until September, but for all intents and purposes, the first crisis of the Cold War had come to an end, and most importantly, the confrontation remained "cold." For the next decade, West Berlin remained a haven for highly-educated East Germans who wanted freedom and a better life in the West, and this "brain drain" was threatening the survival of the East German economy. In order to stop this, access to the West through West Berlin had to be cut off, so in August 1961, Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev authorized East German leader Walter Ulbricht to begin construction of what would become known as the Berlin Wall. The wall, begun on Sunday August 13, would eventually surround the city, in spite of global condemnation, and the Berlin Wall itself would become the symbol for Communist repression in the Eastern Bloc. The Berlin Airlift: The History and Legacy of the First Major Crisis of the Cold War chronicles the history that led to the Soviet blockade and the famous relief efforts undertaken to beat it. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Berlin Airlift like never before, in no time at all.


Book Synopsis The Berlin Airlift by : Charles River Charles River Editors

Download or read book The Berlin Airlift written by Charles River Charles River Editors and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-02-04 with total page 102 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *Includes pictures *Includes accounts of the blockade and airlift by Berliners, American officials, and pilots *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents "Here in Berlin, one cannot help being aware that you are the hub around which turns the wheel of history. ... If ever there were a people who should be constantly sensitive to their destiny, the people of Berlin, East and West, should be they." - Martin Luther King, Jr. In the wake of World War II, the European continent was devastated, and the conflict left the Soviet Union and the United States as uncontested superpowers. This ushered in over 45 years of the Cold War, and a political alignment of Western democracies against the Communist Soviet bloc that produced conflicts pitting allies on each sides fighting, even as the American and Soviet militaries never engaged each other. Though it never got "hot" between the two superpowers, the Cold War was a tense era until the dissolution of the USSR, and nothing symbolized the split more than the division of Berlin. Berlin had been a flashpoint even before World War II ended, and the city was occupied by the different Allies even as the close of the war turned them into adversaries. If anyone wondered whether the Cold War would dominate geopolitics, any hopes that it wouldn't were dashed by the Soviets' blockade of West Berlin in April 1948, ostensibly to protest the currency being used in West Berlin but unquestionably aiming to extend their control over Germany's capital. By cutting off all access via roads, rail, and water, the Soviets hoped to force the Allies out, and at the same time, Stalin's action would force a tense showdown that would test their mettle. In response to the blockade, the British, Americans, Canadians, and other Allies had no choice but to either acquiesce or break the blockade by air, hoping (correctly) that the Soviets wouldn't dare shoot down planes being used strictly for civilian purposes. Over the course of the next year, over 200,000 flights were made to bring millions of tons of crucial supplies to West Berlin, with the Allies maintaining a pace of landing a plane in West Berlin every 30 seconds at the height of the Airlift. As the success of the Berlin Airlift became clear, the Soviets realized the blockade was ineffective, and both sides were able to save face by negotiating an end to the blockade in April 1949, with the Soviets ending it officially on May 12. The Airlift would technically continue until September, but for all intents and purposes, the first crisis of the Cold War had come to an end, and most importantly, the confrontation remained "cold." For the next decade, West Berlin remained a haven for highly-educated East Germans who wanted freedom and a better life in the West, and this "brain drain" was threatening the survival of the East German economy. In order to stop this, access to the West through West Berlin had to be cut off, so in August 1961, Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev authorized East German leader Walter Ulbricht to begin construction of what would become known as the Berlin Wall. The wall, begun on Sunday August 13, would eventually surround the city, in spite of global condemnation, and the Berlin Wall itself would become the symbol for Communist repression in the Eastern Bloc. The Berlin Airlift: The History and Legacy of the First Major Crisis of the Cold War chronicles the history that led to the Soviet blockade and the famous relief efforts undertaken to beat it. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Berlin Airlift like never before, in no time at all.


Cold War Berlin

Cold War Berlin

Author: Andrew Long

Publisher: Europe@War

Published: 2021-02-28

Total Pages: 80

ISBN-13: 9781914059032

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At the end of the Second World War, the city of Berlin was located 100 miles (160 km) inside the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany. The Western Allies insisted on keeping part of the city for themselves, and so it was divided into four sectors, mimicking the rest of Germany. Stalin needed to persuade the British, French and Americans to leave so that there would be nothing in the way of him completing the strategic buffer of territory reaching from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic, which Churchill would later christen the 'Iron Curtain'. Cold War Berlin, an Island City is the story of how Stalin imposed his iron will over eastern Germany, and how he tried to squeeze his former allies out by cutting off their lines of supply and blockading the city. It examines the logistical miracle of the Berlin Airlift, which fed and heated a city of over two million people for almost eleven months. It is a story of alliances forged in the uncertainty of conflict, based on common interests and pragmatic convenience, alliances that would shape the twentieth century but would be betrayed for strategic or political reasons. It is also the tale of how competing ideologies came face to face in the city of Berlin and the new "Cold War" that would come to dominate the second half of the 20th century was created out of the embers of the Second World War. The book is richly illustrated with photos, numerous maps and color profiles and is the first in a mini-series by this author for Helion's Europe@War series on Cold War Berlin.


Book Synopsis Cold War Berlin by : Andrew Long

Download or read book Cold War Berlin written by Andrew Long and published by Europe@War. This book was released on 2021-02-28 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the end of the Second World War, the city of Berlin was located 100 miles (160 km) inside the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany. The Western Allies insisted on keeping part of the city for themselves, and so it was divided into four sectors, mimicking the rest of Germany. Stalin needed to persuade the British, French and Americans to leave so that there would be nothing in the way of him completing the strategic buffer of territory reaching from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic, which Churchill would later christen the 'Iron Curtain'. Cold War Berlin, an Island City is the story of how Stalin imposed his iron will over eastern Germany, and how he tried to squeeze his former allies out by cutting off their lines of supply and blockading the city. It examines the logistical miracle of the Berlin Airlift, which fed and heated a city of over two million people for almost eleven months. It is a story of alliances forged in the uncertainty of conflict, based on common interests and pragmatic convenience, alliances that would shape the twentieth century but would be betrayed for strategic or political reasons. It is also the tale of how competing ideologies came face to face in the city of Berlin and the new "Cold War" that would come to dominate the second half of the 20th century was created out of the embers of the Second World War. The book is richly illustrated with photos, numerous maps and color profiles and is the first in a mini-series by this author for Helion's Europe@War series on Cold War Berlin.