Berlin Tempelhof Airlift Monument (#2190)

Monument in front area of Templehof honoring the US and British airlift of supplies into Berlin during the Soviet blockade of Berlin in 1948-49.

During that period the Soviets blocked road, rail, and canal passage through East Germany to Berlin. The aim of the blockade was to force West Berlin to cede control to the GDR, but the US and British decided to instead supply Berlin by air, creating a Luftbrücke (lierally, air bridge).

During the 15 months of the airlift there were over 278,000 flights to Berlin with the U.S. bringing in the majority of the supplies. Templehof was the main airport used but the British used some flying boats and flights went to Gatow (a British-supported base) and Tegel (a French-supported base). See Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Blockade