Sweet Victory: How the Berlin Airlift Divided East and West

Historian Pearson (Berlin) takes an illuminating up-close look at the Berlin Airlift and the kicking off of the Cold War. The common narrative goes that on June 28, 1949, Berlin—sliced into quadrants occupied by American, British, French, and Soviet forces—was blockaded by Josef Stalin to squeeze out the Westerners. To save the starving Berliners, American and British aircrews delivered more than two million tons of supplies by plane from June 1948 to May 1949. Pearson pokes holes in this version of events: he dispels the notion that Berlin was completely sealed off—“land crossings were commonplace”—and notes that Berliners themselves could easily cross between sectors. “In effect,” he contends, “there was no blockade.” Moreover, he finds among the German populace some initial sympathy for the Soviets, who had placed restrictions on the movement of U.S. military supplies in response to an American plan to introduce a new currency that would “flood [the Soviet] zone and make their currency worthless.” Through probing interviews with those who were present, Pearson reveals how the airlift, more than just a successful propaganda campaign by the Westerners, was a viscerally felt moment of political realignment, which engendered doubt among some Americans (who didn’t want to ally with former Nazis) and hope among Berliners (who wanted to rehabilitate their image in the West). This adds complexity to a major historical turning point. (Dec.)