[June 26, 2014] Looking over the Berlin wall in 1975 was something that my friends and I in VII U.S. Army Corps will never forget. After traveling to Berlin at night by train from Stuttgart in West Germany, we were told to memorize the area we were assigned to study. What none of us knew, perhaps due to an inadequate education, was that the site of the most massive airlift ever in the history of mankind. The Berlin Airlift began on June 26, 1948.
Source: Richard Willis’s Blog
Operation Vittles, the official name of the Berlin Airlift, began on that date. The siege of Berlin began when the communist Soviet Union attempted to strangle allied-controlled West Berlin. Despite being 100 miles from West Germany, the city of Berlin was occupied by the USSR, USA, Britain, and France.
The blockage of Berlin was lifted in May 1949. Most historians agree the blockage was a failure in several ways and a good example here in theLeaderMaker.com on how bad decisions in leadership can have long-lasting effects. First, West Berliners did not reject their western allies. Second, the USSR looked like a cruel occupier. Third, it motivated the creation of NATO, an alliance that still exists.
The failure of socialism and its cousin Communism was demonstrated during the blockage of Berlin. The success of the western forms of government and the strength of their economies was demonstrated by the victory of the Berlin Airlift.
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[1] Richard Willis’s Blog at http://richardwillisuk.wordpress.com/2009/05/13/commemorating-the-berlin-airlift/
[Some excellent websites on the Berlin Airlift]
- http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/berlin-airlift
- http://www.sammcgowan.com/vittles.html
- http://www.spiritoffreedom.org/airlift.html