THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Berlin Airlift Ends | September 30, 1949

“WE STAY IN BERLIN, PERIOD!”
– President Harry S. Truman

SEPTEMBER 30, 2024, marks the 75th anniversary of the end of the Berlin Airlift, America’s first major test of resolve during the Cold War and one of the largest humanitarian aid missions in history.

When World War II ended, Germany was in ruins, and the situation in Berlin was dire. Some 2.5 million Berliners were living in the war-ravaged city, but food was scarce and shelter was hard to find amid all the rubble. To begin rebuilding, the Allies divided the country and capital among the U.S., Great Britain and Russia.

The Soviet-Allied alliance deteriorated quickly, and on June 24, 1948, the Soviets cut rail, road and water access to West Berlin. Stalin controlled Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. Now, with the “Berlin Blockade,” he sought to control all of Berlin, as well.

With more than two million West Berliners facing starvation, Truman had to act. Some advised forcing the Soviets to open land routes or imposing restrictions on Soviet access to the Panama Canal, while others recommended evacuating the city or negotiating via the United Nations. But Truman had no interest in leaving Berlin or starting another war.

The solution, the Berlin Airlift, was a massive humanitarian mission and a dramatic win for President Truman. It showed America’s resolve to resist the Soviet threat without direct confrontation.

AIRLIFT BY THE NUMBERS

238,671

flights covered more than 124 million miles. That’s like flying to the moon 520 times.

2,000

tons of food were needed each day to feed the citizens of Berlin.

2,300,000

tons of cargo were delivered, including coal, building materials, diapers and hay for horses. That’s like delivering the Empire State Building six times!

200

hours of maintenance were required for every 10 hours an airlift plane flew. Mechanics worked 24 hours a day. They repaired 60,000 spark plugs a month.

1,000,000

gallons of fuel were needed to power the airlift. That’s enough for about a million road trips across the United States.

78

lost their lives due to accidents and crashes—39 British, 32 Americans and 7 Germans. They are remembered on the Berlin Airlift monument at Tempelhof Airport.

MORE TO EXPLORE

Lt. Gail Halvorsen

Featured Short

Click below to watch one of our favorite films at the Truman Library. The Candy Bomber shares the story of Lt. Gail Halvorsen, the airman who parachuted candy inside the blockade for the kids in Berlin. (3 min, 20 sec)

WATCH NOW

David Von Drehle

TRU Exclusive

Washington Post columnist David Von Drehle explores the history of the blockade and the mission that, against all odds, supplied Berlin entirely by air for more than a year, thwarting the Soviet’s domination of Europe. (11 min read)

SEE BELOW

President Harry S. Truman

Screen Gems

President Truman recalls the Berlin Airlift in this outtake created during the production of Decision: The Conflicts of Harry S. Truman, which was filmed at the Truman Library and aired on TV in 1964-65. (2 min)

WATCH NOW

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THE MIRACLE IN BERLIN

By David Von Drehle

The decision came down to Truman, as so many difficult decisions did. He was in the midst of an election campaign everyone expected him to lose. Only weeks earlier, he had issued executive orders desegregating the military and the federal workforce, steps that sparked a revolt by his Democratic base in the South. His recent decision to recognize the State of Israel had driven a wedge through his State Department. Now he was faced with the risk of failure—or another war—for the sake of the same German people that had been killing Americans three short years earlier. Many feared a misstep could lead to American humiliation, even nuclear war.

READ THE EXCLUSIVE STORY

STEP INTO THE STORY

EXPERIENCE the immersive story of the Berlin Airlift in the William T. Kemper Postwar World Gallery at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum.

The end of World War II did not slow the pace of the challenges that Harry Truman faced. Much of Europe and Asia lay in ruins, ravaged by starvation and economic collapse. As the only nation to emerge stronger after the war, the United States took the lead. The Soviet Union had suffered catastrophic losses. After the war, it seized control of Eastern Europe to bolster its industries and to create a buffer against future attacks. Truman aggressively sought to counter Soviet expansionism. This—and preventing a third world war—became his top foreign-policy objective. Tensions between the two nations gave rise to the Cold War. Gallery highlights include:

• Immersive Theater: New Kind of War
• Fractured Globe
• Digital Interactive: The Berlin Airlift

PLAN YOUR MUSEUM VISIT

 

“BERLIN BECAME A SYMBOL OF WHAT THE ALLIES WERE TRYING TO DO, AND THE RESOLUTION BECAME STRONGER AND STRONGER.”