The Blockade Breakers: The Berlin Airlift

The Berlin Airlift represents one of the most dramatic humanitarian efforts of the postwar era and was a strikingly successful example of British and American cooperation. It was also an event that made a major contribution towards turning a wartime enemy into a Cold War ally. Helena Schrader commemorates the “Blockade Breakers” of the Berlin Airlift and the impact they had on Allied-German relations in this thoroughly-researched study. The book recreates the excitement and tension of the period by reminding the reader that the success of the Airlift was by no means a foregone conclusion. At the core of the book are two themes: the enormous logistical challenges posed by the Airlift, and the complicated relationship between Berliners and the Western Allies. It focuses on the human, political, economic, and technological perspectives and includes a wealth of first-hand accounts from British, American, German, and Russian sources.