Posts Tagged ‘Berlin Blockade’

Gatow Airport Played Key Role in Berlin Airlift

Monday, November 25th, 2019

 

Did you know that Berlin’s Gatow Airport handled more than one-third of all Berlin Airlift flights? The credit usually goes to Tempelhof Airport alone, but in fact, three airports were involved in the Berlin Airlift: Berlin-Tempelhof in the American sector, Berlin-Gatow in the British sector and Berlin-Tegel in the French Sector.

Militaer Historisches Museum - Berlin Gatow, Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Militaer Historisches Museum – Berlin Gatow, Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Reason for the Berlin Airlift

At the end of World War II, Germany and Berlin were divided into four occupation sectors: American, British, French and Russian. Berlin ended up deep within the Soviet zone. As part of the 1945 Potsdam Agreement, the three western Allies had negotiated free access from their West German occupation zones to their respective sectors of Berlin. In 1948, contrary to this agreement, the Soviets blocked all land and water access to West Berlin. The three Western Allies continued to support West Berlin and flew in all coal, food, and medications. The operation was known as the Berlin Airlift. Soon, an Allied plane landed every three minutes. Eleven months later, the Soviets called off the Berlin Blockade.

Gatow Airport’s Role During the Berlin Airlift

The very first planes to fly supplies into West Berlin landed at Gatow Airport, starting on 18 June 1948. Flights landed at Tempelhof Airport starting on 26 June 1948, and flights to Tegel Airport started on 5 November 1948. Both, Gatow and Tempelhof were high-tech airfields and among the first in the world to be equipped with a radar system to support ground-controlled approaches. At the time the Berlin Airlift started, two of Gatow’s runways were already in operation. A third one would be constructed shortly. Altogether, Gatow Airport handled more than 115,000 airlift flights out of a total of almost 278,000 flight to all three West Berlin airports combined.

History of Gatow Airfield

The Gatow airfield was originally constructed in 1934 and 1935 by the Luftwaffe, the German Air Force. Towards the end of World War II, advancing Red Army troops occupied the airport. Following the division of Berlin, the Soviet forces relinquished the field to the British forces in exchange for a locality at the western edge of Berlin.

Many different types of aircraft landed at Gatow Airport. Conventional transport aircraft brought coal, food and other goods. Bomber aircraft converted into tankers delivered fuels. The nearby Havel River was used as runway for flying boats. On their return flights some planes took passengers aboard. Almost 7,500 sick and undernourished children were flown from Gatow to West Germany via these flying boats.

Escapes to Gatow from East Germany

At least three successful escapes were made from East Germany to Gatow: On 7 April 1978 and 15 July 1987, a total of three East Germans defected by flying light aircrafts. Both planes were dismantled and returned to East Germany. On 24 June 1979, an East German pilot defected in a glider and landed at Gatow. The sailplane was handed back to East Germany at the Glienicke Bridge, the bridge of spies.

Today’s Use of the Airfield

Following German reunification, the British Royal Air Force stopped using Gatow Airport and handed it back to the German Armed Forces in 1994. Thereafter, the airfield was closed and the runways were cut in half. The western half became home to a housing project, and the eastern half houses the Militaer Historisches Museum, a branch of the German Armed Forces Military Museum.

 

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.

 

William H. Tunner – Berlin Airlift logistics genius

Monday, August 6th, 2018

Lieutenant General William H. Tunner, affectionately known as “Willie the Whip” revolutionized the United States Air Force military transport logistics like none other. Aside from having successfully commanded the Allied “Hump” operation between India and China and the Korean Airlift, Tunner is best known for masterminding the 1948/1949 Berlin Airlift.

William H. Tunner and the Berlin Blockade

Between 21 June 1948 and 12 May 1949, the Soviet Union blockaded all approaches to West Berlin, by land and by sea. http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/berlin-blockade-and-the-cold-war/ The Western Allies responded by supplying the population of the three western sectors of the city and their occupation troops by air alone. Such a large-scale airlift operation had never been attempted before, and no one knew if it was even workable. A planning committee determined that the city required 4,500 tons of supplies per day. That number represented the bare minimum of food, coal and medicine to keep Berlin’s population alive. When airlift operations began running into problems, Lt. General Tunner was asked to take charge.

William H. Tunner masterminds the Berlin Airlift

The Military Governor of Berlin, General Lucius D. Clay, http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/lucius-d-clay-berlins-defender-of-freedom/ contacted General Curtis E. LeMay when the Berlin Airlift headed for a quagmire. Although the mission had been more or less successful up to this point, it became apparent that the tonnage flown into Berlin fell far short of the tonnage needed. Flight and ground crews were operating without schedules. Aircraft maintenance was haphazard, and loading and unloading of the planes were not well coordinated. The mission had become a “mission impossible”.

That is when General LeMay turned to logistics genius Lt. General William H. Tunner for help. On 29 July 1948, Tunner reported in Germany. Within three days, “Willie the Whip” had initiated his first order to reduce delivery delays. It called for American crew members to remain with their plane at all times once landed. Whether at Berlin-Tempelhof or at Berlin-Gatow airport, once they had taxied to the unloading ramp, planes were now met by large trucks and unloading crews. This order alone greatly reduced turn-around time in Berlin.

William H. Tunner tackles mounting obstacles

Tunner made many more changes. He had airplanes refurbished and additional planes added. Since the planes flew day after day while runways were being repaired, the need for an additional airport became apparent. The problem was that hardly any heavy equipment and definitely no raw materials or skilled labor could be found in all of Berlin. The only way to get large construction equipment into the city was to cut it up at the Rhein-Main airbase in West Germany, load it onto large planes to Berlin, and weld it together again upon arrival. The obstacles seemed insurmountable. But “Willie the Whip” whipped up solutions. He solved the raw material problem by using rock and brick rubble from the bombed-out streets and buildings of Berlin. He solved the labor issue by using thousands of volunteer Berliners who pitched in to save their city. Men, women and children – mostly unskilled – worked around the clock, alongside US Army engineers, to complete the third airport, Berlin-Tegel. Tegel was completed in a mere three months, almost two months ahead of schedule. While these and other procedures were instituted to assure the maximum number of flights per day, the Soviets conducted periodic air maneuvers and anti-aircraft gun practices in the air corridors in an attempt to disrupt airlift traffic.

William H. Tunner fine-tunes the Berlin Airlift operation

Following Tunner’s logistics improvements, the tonnage flown into West Berlin slowly crept up. The calculated daily minimum was reached and soon exceeded http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/whtunner.htm while pilots from all over the world flew continuous airlift missions through the three 20-mile-wide air corridors, negotiated in the Potsdam Agreement. Throughout the Berlin Blockade, these air corridors remained the only means of access to West Berlin. By the time, Tunner had the missions run like clockwork, loaded planes took off from Frankfurt/Main every three minutes, hit certain check points at pre-determined altitudes and air speeds and descended and landed in West Berlin at the same interval. The pattern of their return was just as exact. “There were, most of the time, 26 planes in the corridor simultaneously. Landing techniques had to be faultless; each point had to be passed at a precise height, at an exact time and at a predetermined speed. There could be no variations and no displays of individual temperament,” says Clayton Knight in “Lifeline in the Sky”.

Typical aircraft Lt. General William H. Tunner had at his disposal during the Berlin Airlift. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2015. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Typical aircraft Lt. General William H. Tunner had at his disposal during the Berlin Airlift. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2015. www.walled-in-berlin.com

 

On 22 May, 1949 the Soviets lifted the blockade after more than two million tons of food and coal had been flown into West Berlin. The Berlin Airlift was a complete success thanks to Lt. General William H. Tunner’s organizational skills.

 

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.

 

 

 

Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport rooted in change

Monday, May 14th, 2018

Constructed between 1936 and 1941, British architect Norman Foster dubbed Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport the “Mother of all Airports” because it introduced so many groundbreaking new features, which later were copied around the world.

In 1948/49, Tempelhof Airport was crucial to the Berlin Airlift. Following World War II, US, British, French, and Soviet military forces occupied Germany and divided it into four occupation zones. Berlin ended up 100 miles inside the Soviet-controlled occupation zone. When tension between the four Allies escalated, the Soviets blocked all road, rail and water access to West Berlin. The three western Allies responded by airlifting food, fuel and medical supplies to West Berlin. During the Berlin Blockade, Tempelhof Airport was used as the main takeoff and landing siteSome of the airlift pilots dropped candy for Berlin’s children from their planes. US Col. Gail Halvorsen was the originator of the humanitarian gesture.

Berlin girls with flowers for Col. Gail Halvorsen. Collage on display at Berlin's Tempelhof Airport, Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2015. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Berlin girl with flowers for Col. Gail Halvorsen. Collage on display at Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport, Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2015. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Tempelhof Airport during the US Occupation

In July 1945, the Red Army handed over Tempelhof Airport to the US forces. Following extensive repairs, the US Air Force turned it into a military base and constructed a radio tower for surveillance purposes. The Air Force also set up several training facilities, a shooting range, various function rooms, a bowling alley, a basketball court, a supermarket, a cinema and a disco area. At one point, 2,000 US military personnel were stationed at Tempelhof Airport. In 1951, US occupation forces released part of the airport for civil and cargo operations.

Tempelhof Airport reached its capacity

Tempelhof Airport’s capacity for civil operations was stretched to the limits by the 1960s. Following the construction of Tegel Airport in the French sector of the city in 1975, Tempelhof operations were suspended. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1990, Tempelhof Airport reopened for domestic flights on an “on and off” basis, then permanently ceased all operations in November 2008.

Closing of Tempelhof Airport

Despite the efforts of about 500 protesters and a majority vote in a referendum to keep it open, Tempelhof Airport officially closed on 30 October 2008. Three years later, Berlin’s city planners proposed development of low-income housing for 4,700 families, a large public library and commercial uses along the perimeter of the site, while promising to turn its center into a park. But locals remained unconvinced. Instead, they initiated the 2014 “100% Tempelhofer Feld” referendum. That initiative forced the City of Berlin to abandon its development plans and to keep Tempelhof Airport a giant park until 2024. Beyond that date, the airport’s future is unclear, although many Berliners would like to preserve its uniqueness. For now, kite surfers, rollerbladers, weekend gardeners, artists, cyclists, joggers, jugglers, baton twirlers and dancers have full use of the airfield, and events such as the Formula E races, horse racing and soccer are not uncommon.

Remembering Tempelhof Airport

During the 1960s, the height of the Cold War, I was employed by Lufthansa, German Airlines, and worked in their cargo section. Lufthansa was not permitted to fly into West Berlin at that time. Only US, British and French-registered airlines operating non-combat aircraft had landing privileges, and pilots were required to hold a passport of one of those three countries. That meant that Pan American, British Airways and Air France were permitted to fly into West Berlin while Lufthansa had agreements with those three carriers to transport its freight between West Berlin and West German airports.

My Lufthansa cargo office was once located in this hanger at Tempelhof Airport. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2015. www.walled-in-berlin.com

My Lufthansa cargo office was once located in this hanger at Tempelhof Airport. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2015. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Lufthansa’s cargo offices were located in one of the large, covered airport hangers. During lunchtime, I usually headed for the cafeteria of the Berlin police department, located in the very building the police still leases today. It was in this building that I regularly rode the paternoster. If you have never been on one, you haven’t lived!

 

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.

 

Berlin Airlift Memorial

Monday, May 16th, 2016

 

The Berlin Airlift Memorial at Tempelhof Airport was dedicated in 1951 to honor those man and women who lost their lives in the Berlin Airlift. The 65-foot-tall concrete sculpture is shaped like an arched fork with three prongs at the top. Each prong symbolizes an air corridor used by Allied planes to airlift food, fuel and medicine from West Germany to West Berlin during the Berlin Blockade of 1948/49. http://walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/berlin-blockade-and-the-cold-war/The three prongs face west toward the former American, British and French occupation zones. Every year a wreath is laid down at the Berlin Airlift Memorial, which Berliners lovingly call the Hungerkralle (hunger claw). Two similar, but smaller, memorials were erected near the former West German air bases in Frankfurt Main (1985) and Celle (1988). Their prongs face toward Berlin.

Berlin Airlift Memorial at Berlin's Tempelhof Airport. The inscription at its base reads "They gave their lives for the freedom of Berlin in service of the Berlin Airlift 1948/49", photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2015

Berlin Airlift Memorial at Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport. The inscription at its base reads “They gave their lives for the freedom of Berlin in service of the Berlin Airlift 1948/49”, photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2015, www.walled-in-berlin.com

Why the Berlin Airlift?

In 1948/49, when the Soviet Union blocked all roads and waterways to West Berlin in order to starve the city, Tempelhof Airport became the city’s lifeline. Allied planes supplied the city for a period of 11 months with food, fuel, and everything else that was necessary for daily life. Planes landed every few minutes. http://walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/berlin-airlift-unprecedented-feat/

Berlin Airlift Fatalities

As much as the Berlin Airlift was a feat of logistics, accidents did happen. There were 101 fatalities, which included 39 British and 31 American servicemen. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92597573

Most of the accidents resulted from hazardous weather conditions or mechanical failures. The remaining fatalities were comprised of civilians who perished on the ground during operational support or lost their lives when aircraft accidents destroyed their homes. Seventeen American and eight British aircraft crashed during the Berlin Airlift. Commemorating those men and women who lost their lives due to the airlift, an inscription at the foot of the Berlin Airlift Memorial reads, “They gave their lives for the freedom of Berlin in service of the Berlin Airlift 1948/1949.”

 

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.

 

Gail Halvorsen – Berlin Airlift hero

Monday, May 9th, 2016

Retired US Air Force Colonel Gail Halvorsen was a First Lieutenant when he was told to help airlift flour, dried eggs, dried potatoes, dried milk and coal into West Berlin during the Berlin Blockade of 1948/49. The purpose of the mission was to keep West Berlin’s 2.2 million population from starvation. The Berlin Airlift was the biggest humanitarian aid mission in history, and Colonel Halvorsen remains one of its unforgotten heroes. The children of Berlin called him Uncle Wiggly Wings.

Why was Berlin blockaded?

Following Word War II, Germany was divided into four zones. American, British, French and Soviet forces occupied the country. Berlin, the capital, was also split into four sectors, and West Berlin ended up 100 miles inside the Soviet occupation zone. http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/allied-control-council-governs-germany/ By 1948, the Soviets tried to get the three Western occupation powers to withdraw from Berlin. http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/berlin-blockade-and-the-cold-war/ To hasten the process, the Soviets blocked all land and water access to West Berlin. Now, trucks, trains and barges were no longer able to supply West Berlin with food and coal. In an unprecedented logistical feat, the three Western Allies decided to supply West Berlin from the air in what is commonly known as the Berlin Airlift. http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/berlin-airlift-unprecedented-feat/ For eleven months, supply planes landed every few minutes at West Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport. On 12 May 1949, the Soviet Union lifted the blockade.

How Gail Halvorsen became a Berlin Airlift hero

In a 2007 essay, the now 95-year-old Colonel Gail Halvorsen explains why the children of Berlin knew him as “Uncle Wiggly Wings.” In 1948, the beginning of the blockade, the U.S. Air Force ordered him to fly life-sustaining essentials into West Berlin. Day and night he flew a C-54 Skymaster filled with staples into West Berlin. He flew in thunderstorms, fog, ice and snow. Off duty, he slept in the loft of a farmer’s old barn. From his cockpit Gail Halvorsen could see the moonscape that had once been the  grand capital of Germany. Many buildings were mere shells. Rubble everywhere. http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/legacy-of-rubble-women/

One day in July, when he was off duty, Colonel Gail Halvorsen walked to the end of the runway to film aircraft landings. A group of about 30 children stood behind the barbed wire fence. He walked over to the children, fully expecting them to beg for sweets as he had previously experienced in other parts of the world. But these children didn’t beg. They appeared so grateful for the flour he delivered that they didn’t think it proper to ask for more. Impressed, Gail Halvorsen reached into his pocket for some gum. But all he found were two sticks of Wrigley’s Doublemint – two sticks for 30 children. He broke them in half and passed them through the barbed wire. Now the children surprised him even more. They broke the gum into as many pieces as possible and shared them. They then tore the wrappers into pieces as well and handed them to the children who had gone without gum. The latter stuck their noses into the wrappers to savor the minty smell. Without fighting over the gum, every little face was lit with glee. Colonel Gail Halvorsen was so moved by the children’s restraint that he promised to drop more gum the next day so that every child could enjoy a piece. When the children asked how they would recognize his plane, he said he would wiggle the aircraft’s wings.

Then First Lieutenant Gail Halvorsen surrounded by Berlin children, photo courtesy of archive.defense.gov

Then First Lieutenant Gail Halvorsen surrounded by Berlin children, photo courtesy of archive.defense.gov

The following day, Gail Halvorsen made good on his promise. He fashioned three little parachutes from handkerchiefs, attached packages of sweets to them and dropped the small canopies from his plane just prior to landing. From then on he continued to drop candy from his plane, even in the Soviet sector. His generous deed caught on. By the end of the Berlin Airlift, Colonel Gail Halvorsen along with many other pilots, had dropped over 20 tons of chocolate, gum and candy over Berlin. In 1974, Uncle Wiggly Wings was awarded the German Federal Cross of Merit in Berlin for his role in the Berlin Airlift.

 

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.

 

 

Berlin Airlift – unprecedented feat

Monday, May 2nd, 2016

In response to the Berlin Blockade http://walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/berlin-blockade-and-the-cold-war/the Western Allies (United States, Great Britain and France) organized the Berlin Airlift. The miles flown to supply Berlin from the air between 24 June 1948 and 12 May 1949 equaled almost the distance between the earth and the sun.

Berlin Airlift Memorial at Berlin's Tempelhof Airport. The inscription at its base reads "They gave their lives for the freedom of Berlin in service of the Berlin Airlift 1948/49", photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2015

Berlin Airlift Memorial at Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport. The inscription at its base reads “They gave their lives for the freedom of Berlin in service of the Berlin Airlift 1948/49”, photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2015

The Berlin Blockade meant eminent starvation

When the Soviets severed all land and water connections between West Germany and West Berlin in June 1948, there were only 35 days worth of food and 45 days worth of coal left in the city. The power generated provided only 2.5 hours worth of electricity during a 24-hour period. Starvation loomed. Convinced that the United States, Great Britain and France had little choice but to surrender West Berlin, the Soviet military administration celebrated. But their bash was premature.

To try or not to try the Berlin Airlift?

The Soviet Blockade had convinced the three Western Allies that remaining in Berlin was essential to stemming the spread of Communism. Since all surface routes to West Berlin were blockaded, the only alternative was to supply West Berlin by air. There were three previously negotiated air corridors. But the task was enormous. Never before had a population this large (2 million) been supplied from the air. Estimates indicated that about 4,000 to 5,000 tons per day would have to be airlifted to supply the city. And those were summer figures when there was no need for heat. During the winter months the total tonnage required to be airlifted would be closer to 6,000 tons per day. Nonetheless, the American and British military agreed to try a joint operation. The U.S. part of the operation was named Operation Vittles; the British one was dubbed Operation Plainfare. In September 1948, the Australian military joined with Operation Pelican.

The Berlin Airlift begins

On 25 June 1948, only one day after the start of the Berlin Blockade, the American military commander, General Lucius D. Clay, gave the order to launch Operation Vittles. http://walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/lucius-d-clay-berlins-defender-of-freedom/ The next day, 32 planes hauled 80 tons of milk, flour and medicine to West Berlin. The first British aircraft flew on 28 June. During the first week, the airlift averaged only ninety tons a day, but by the second week it reached 1000 tons. Then Major General William H. Tunner was put in charge of the operation. He quickly doubled the tonnage and hours flown. Supply planes eventually flew in five altitudes, starting at 500 feet. Every three minutes a plane landed in West Berlin. He replaced the unloading crews unloading almost entirely with local people.

Typical aircraft flown during the Berlin Airlift, photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2015

Typical aircraft flown during the Berlin Airlift, photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2015

The Berlin Airlift ends

Although the Berlin Blockade ended on 12 May 1949, the Berlin Airlift continued until 30 September. The Western Allies stocked up on food, fuel, and other supplies, just in case the Soviets might resume the blockade. Between June 1948 and September 1949, the Berlin Airlift delivered more than 2.3 million tons of cargo on over 275,000 flights. Nearly two-thirds of the cargo was coal. Pilots came from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa.

 

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.

 

 

Berlin Blockade and the Cold War

Monday, April 25th, 2016

Until the Berlin Blockade began in 1948, the United States had no intention of occupying West Berlin beyond the establishment of a new West German government in 1949. But the subsequent Berlin Blockade and ensuing Cold War kept the U.S. in West Berlin until 1994.

An important omission in the Potsdam Agreement

In the summer of 1945, in the aftermath of World War II, the three victorious powers (the United States, Great Britain and the Soviet Union) signed the Potsdam Agreement. This document laid down the legal framework for the occupation of Germany and re-affirmed rules previously hammered out at the Yalta Conference. Specifically, the Potsdam Agreement addressed the terms of the military occupation, division, territorial changes, reparations and reconstruction of Germany. Accordingly, Germany was divided into three zones. Berlin, the capital, was also divided into three sectors, despite the fact that the city was located 100 miles inside Soviet occupation territory. Three air corridors from West Germany to West Berlin had been negotiated in the Potsdam Agreement, but rail, road and water access were never discussed. This omission was to be the basis for endless frustration.

Quadripartite administration of Germany and Berlin

The Allies established the Allied Control Council http://walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/allied-control-council-governs-germany/ to execute resolutions concerning Germany and the Allied Kommandatura http://walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/allied-kommandatura-governs-berlin/ to implement resolutions concerning Berlin. When France joined the Allies as the fourth occupation power, its territories of Germany and Berlin were carved from the American and British occupation zones and sectors. The four Allies agreed to govern their respective zone and sector as they deemed fit, but unanimous agreement would be required in matters that concerned all of Germany or all of Berlin.

Events leading up to the Berlin Blockade

By 1948, the relationship between the four powers had gone sour. The three western powers wanted to help rebuilt Germany to stabilize the European continent, with the hope that it would prevent Communism from spreading. The Soviets preferred a weak Germany and an unstable continent, with the hope that it would provide fertile ground for the spread of Communism. It did not take long before the Soviets regretted having agreed to share the city of Berlin with the Western Allies. Now they wanted nothing more than for the three western powers to get out of West Berlin. Quadripartite control became unworkable. On 20 March 1948, the Allied Control Council met for the last time. On 16 June 1948, the Allied Kommandatura assembled for the last time. The Soviet delegation walked out for good.

After the Soviets had left the table, the three Western Allies made decisions concerning their occupation territories without Soviet input. On 21 June 1948, the Western Allies introduced a new currency in the western zones and sectors. They introduced the Deutsche Mark. The Soviets, who had not been consulted, objected vehemently. On 22 June 1948, the Soviets also introduced their own new currency in the eastern zone.

From Berlin Blockade to Berlin Airlift

On 24 June 1948, The Soviets blocked all rail, road and water connections between West Germany and West Berlin. They offered to lift the blockade only if the Western Allies agreed to withdraw the Deutsche Mark from West Berlin. The Western Allies refused. The Soviets stopped supplying agricultural goods to West Berlin and cut off the electricity generated in the Soviet zone and relied upon by the three western zones of Berlin. There was only enough food to last for 35 days and enough coal to last for 45 days.

With surface traffic between West Germany and West Berlin severed and in the absence of negotiated ground access rights to the city, the only remaining possibility was to try to supply West Berlin from the air. On June 26, 1948, American military commander Lucius D. Clay http://walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/lucius-d-clay-berlins-defender-of-freedom/ had the first planes in the air. The Berlin Airlift began and the Cold War heated up. The Berlin Blockade lasted from 24 June 1948 to 12 May 1949.

 

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.

 

Lucius D. Clay – Berlin’s defender of freedom

Monday, April 18th, 2016

General Lucius D. Clay died in 1978. At his gravesite at West Point you’ll see a memorial. It was erected by the people of West Berlin and reads: Wir danken dem Bewahrer unserer Freiheit (We thank the defender of our freedom). Those words were spoken from the heart because General Clay literally saved West Berlin from starvation during the Berlin Blockade. I was only three years old when the blockade started in 1948, but I am keenly aware that I would not write about it today, had it not been for the actions of General Lucius D. Clay. Years later, when President John F. Kennedy dispatched Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson together with Lucius D. Clay to Berlin to shore up the spirits of Berliners during the Berlin Wall crisis, it was Clay whom we went to see. It was Clay whom we trusted.

General Lucius D. Clay and the Berlin Blockade

So how did the Berlin Blockade come about and what did General Lucius D. Clay do to earn the respect and the hearts of West Berlin’s population? Following World War II, Germany and the city of Berlin were divided into four sectors and occupied by British, French, American, and Soviet forces. On 23 June 1948, in an attempt to revive the German economy, the three western Allies issued a new currency, the Deutsche Mark. The Soviets vehemently opposed this action and in return blockaded all land and water access routes to West Berlin. With this move, they hoped to force the Western Allies take back the new currency and subsequently hand West Berlin to the Soviets. By blocking all deliveries of food and electricity they hoped to starve West Berliners into submitting to Soviet control.

At that time, Clay was military governor of the American section of occupied Germany. He decided to supply Berlin by air. Lucius D. Clay gave orders even before having received authorization from President Harry S. Truman. Within three days of the start of the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift started. It was an incredible logistical feat because never before had a population of 2 million been supplied from the air. But with the help of a man by the name of William H. Tunner, Clay fine-tuned the Airlift until planes landed every three minutes, twenty-four hours a day. Over the course of the next eleven months, General Clay directed some 277,800 flights, carrying 2.3 million tons of food and fuel to West Berlin. http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1793.html.

The Berlin Airlift lasted 324 days. When the Soviets realized that the Western Allies could supply West Berlin indefinitely, they threw in the towel. The Berlin Blockade ended on 12 May 1949. It was Clay’s decisiveness and tenacity that saved Berliners from starvation.

General Lucius D. Clay(1898 to 1978)

General Lucius D. Clay (1898 to 1978)

Who was this man, General Lucius D. Clay?

Born in 1898 in Georgia to U.S. Senator Alexander Stephens Clay and Sarah Francis, Lucius DuBignon Clay was the youngest of six children. He graduated from West Point in 1918, became a military engineer and held various civil and military engineering posts during the 1920s and 1930s. During that time, he earned the reputation of being a hard-charging, chain-smoking, tireless and decisive worker who could turn chaos into order.

From 1947 to 1949, Clay was commander in chief of the U.S. Force in Europe and the military governor of war-torn Germany’s American Zone. General Lucius D. Clay also directed “A Report on Germany,” which became one of the source documents for The Marshall Plan. After retiring as a four-star general in 1949, Clay went into the private sector and became a successful business executive. Over time, he served on 18 corporate boards and became the principal architect of our Interstate highway system.

 

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.

 

Currywurst – German Cousin of the Hot Dog

Thursday, June 26th, 2014

Currywurst is a German national Schnell-Imbiss, a fast food. It is the German cousin of the American hot dog. In the beginning, Currywurst was an inexpensive, filling meal purchased from street vendors. Today, it is also available in many upscale restaurants from Germany to New York.

What is Currywurst?

Currywurst is a grilled sausage that is cut into slices (when I grew up, it was split lengthwise) and dowsed with a sauce. The secret lies in the sauce, which in essence consists of stewed tomatoes, curry, and spices. Depending on the vendor, the sauce may be flavored with sweet Indian curry, powdered mustard, hot chili, lemongrass, paprika, or chopped onions.

Currywurst success story

Made from grilled pork or beef, this quick meal originated in the bare-bones kitchen of a Berlin woman during the Berlin Blockade and Airlift of 1948/1949. Herta Heuwer was a hands-on woman. When Berlin lay in shambles at the end of World War II, Heuwer did her part by becoming a Truemmerfrau (rubble woman). She became one of the many women who are credited with putting Germany’s war-torn cities back together by separating reusable building materials from tons of useless debris so that reconstruction could begin. http://walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/legacy-of-rubble-women. Herta Heuwer became a Truemmerfrau who helped to put Berlin’s district of Charlottenburg–the district I grew up in–back on its feet in 1946. A couple of years later, during the Berlin Blockade, she bartered with her British occupiers for a few spices. Condiments were largely unattainable in those days. After she had traded spirits for a little Worcester sauce and ketchup, she experimented with these spices at home and ended up with a sauce that she poured over boiled pork sausage. The dish caught on with the working class. Soon Heuwer opened a street side stand and sold Currywurst with a slice of whole grain bread on the side. Her business took off. Six years later, her sales amounted to 10,000 servings a week. After patenting her sauce under the name of “Chillup,” Heuwer opened a fast food restaurant at Kaiser-Friedrich-Strasse 57 in Charlottenburg, not far from where I grew up. Ms. Heuwer never disclosed her original recipe and never sold out to mass-production food companies.

Herta Heuwer plaque installed at Kaiser-Friedrich-Str. 57 at the corner of Kantstrasse, photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2015

Herta Heuwer plaque installed at Kaiser-Friedrich-Str. 57 at the corner of Kantstrasse, photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2015

Currywurst consumption today

The Deutsche Currywurst Museum estimates that 800 million Currywursts are consumed in Germany every year, 70 million in Berlin alone. Even the Volkswagen car manufacturing plant in Wolfsburg produces 3.5 million Currywursts per year in its own butcher shop.

 

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.