Berlin airlift

Cultural  

1. A military operation in the late 1940s that brought food and other needed goods into West Berlin by air after the government of East Germany, which at that time surrounded West Berlin (see Berlin wall) (see also Berlin wall), had cut off its supply routes. The United States joined with western European nations in flying the supplies in. The airlift was one of the early events of the cold war.

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Berlin airlift

The Berlin airlift features briefly, as does George Kennan’s “X” article from Foreign Affairs magazine in 1947, which introduced the concept of containment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

In a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Berlin airlift, he co-piloted a plane that made more sweets rain down over the by-then unified city.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 18, 2022

“In both the Berlin airlift and the effort to bring refugees out of Afghanistan, American humanitarian values and impulses are on big display for the rest of the world,” Mr. Beschloss said.

From New York Times ● Aug. 24, 2021

The voluntary program, born in the wake of the Berlin airlift, adds to the military’s capabilities during crises.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 22, 2021

One U.S. soldier warns another about the latter’s German girlfriend during the Berlin airlift.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2020