Understanding the Berlin blockade and airlift

NARRATOR: Berlin in early 1948 - World War II ended three years before. People hope for better times and rebuild their cities. After the capitulation of Germany, Berlin is under the control of the four victorious Allied powers. Two million people live in the three sectors of West Berlin, as if on an island, surrounded by the Soviet zone. Only by way of train, a single motorway, and a few waterways can this outpost of the western Allies be reached by the free world. The Soviet dictator Stalin controls all of East Europe except Berlin, which is like a thorn in the side of the communist empire. June 20, 1948 - currency reform in the western zones. It is the birth of the Deutschmark. The Americans know a stable currency is essential for economic stability and growth. But what would happen in Berlin?

KLAUS SCHÜTZ: "The crucial point was in answering the question which currency? Which currency will it be? And our answer was unequivocally clear. We wanted the currency of the west."

NARRATOR: And the new money arrives, also in West Berlin. The Soviets are reluctant to accept this. In the night of June 24, 1948, all Soviet checkpoints are ordered to block entry into the sectors of West Berlin. The barriers remain shut. This is the Soviet answer to the introduction of the Deutschmark. In the western sectors of the city, it's lights out. Seventy-five percent of the electricity has been supplied by East Berlin until now.

GERHARD BÜRGER: "Nobody knew what was going on. We asked the Americans 'What are you going to do?' They said 'Our duffle bags are packed.' There was a terrible fear that they were going to abandon us, let us fall into the hands of the Russians. I'd like to say for all Berliners."

EBERHARD SCHÖNKNECHT: "It was no time before our normal rations were being rationed further. And then the electricity was turned off. It was a total invasion of our daily lives, and the effect couldn't have been more drastic."

NARRATOR: Washington, June 28, 1948 - President Truman meets with his advisers in the White House. He wants to wage a new kind of offensive: sustaining an entire city from the air. An airlift for over 2 million people - an undertaking without precedent.

SCHÜTZ: "We had no doubts that if the Americans took on this challenge, they would succeed. However, I must admit, we had no idea of the scope of this operation."

NARRATOR: West Berlin requires at least 1,500 tons of food daily. But, above all, the isolated city needs coal. Will an air transport be sufficient to meet the energy needs of half a metropolis? The air force can transport anything. Such is the bold claim from Washington.