Synopsis
Presented by American Airlines and written by Stanley Washburn, Jr. and shot by Agnew Fisher, AIRLIFT TO BERLIN presents the story of the Berlin Airlift of 1948. It was made before the resolution of the Berlin Blockade, and demonstrated the resolve of those involved in the Lift to see it succeed. Just prior to the Berlin Blockade, American Airlines had begun passenger service to Berlin, and so the airline was intimately involved in the lift and the evacuation of some civilians from the city. The film shows the movement of supplies from Rhein Mein into the besieged city by Douglas C-54 Skymasters. The British and Allies maintained their own corridor as part of the lift. Tempelhof Airport is seen at the 3:40 mark. The film also shows unique vistas of the ruined city of Berlin, which at this time was still recovering from the devastation of the war, including the shell of the Reichstag at the 5:50 mark and the Brandenburg Gate at the 6:00 mark. The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under Western control. The Soviets offered to drop the blockade if the Western Allies withdrew the newly introduced Deutsche mark from West Berlin. In response, the Western Allies organized the Berlin airlift to carry supplies to the people of West Berlin, a…
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Details
- Running time
- 10 minutes
- Collection
- Ephemeral Films
Subjects on the Internet Archive
- Stock Footage