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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Example Sentences

“We need to see a sense of urgency,” he said, “something like the Berlin airlift.”

From Washington Post

It is, in many ways, a more complex effort than the Berlin airlift three-quarters of a century ago.

From Seattle Times

The Berlin airlift, one of the most massive humanitarian aid missions ever undertaken, circumvented the Soviet blockade by delivering goods to West Berlin by plane.

From Washington Post

The Berlin airlift officially ended 72 years ago today.

From New York Times

“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