Bridge Across the Sky: The Berlin Blockade and Airlift, 1948-1949
by Richard Collier
31 Members (2.00)
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Description
"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 Allied control. Their aim was to force the western powers to allow the Soviet zone to start supplying Berlin with food and fuel, thereby giving the Soviets practical control over the entire city. In response, show more the Western Allies organized the Berlin airlift to carry supplies to the people in West Berlin.[1][2] Aircrews from the United States Air Force, the British Royal Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal New Zealand Air Force, and South African Air Force :338 flew over 200,000 flights in one year, providing up to 4700 tons of daily necessities such as fuel and food to the Berliners. By the spring of 1949, the effort was clearly succeeding and, by April, the airlift was delivering more cargo than had previously been transported into the city by rail. The success of the Berlin Airlift brought embarrassment to the Soviets who had refused to believe it could make a difference. The blockade was lifted in May 1949 and resulted in the creation of two separate German states.[4] The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) split up Berlin. In remembrance of the airlift, three airports in the former western zones of the city served as the primary gateways to Germany for another fifty years."--Wikipedia. show lessTags
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Author Information
29+ Works 1,498 Members
Richard Collier was born in London, England. At eighteen he joined the R.A.F. &, as a services war correspondent, traveled all over the Far East. He has contributed to many American & English magazines & has penned more than half a dozen books on World War II. (Bowker Author Biography)
Common Knowledge
- Important places
- Berlin, Germany
- Important events
- Cold War; Berlin Airlift (1948 | 1949)
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, History, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 943.155 — History & geography History of Europe Germany and neighboring central European countries Northeastern Germany Brandenburg and Berlin Berlin
- LCC
- DD881 .C57 — History of Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania Germany History of Germany Local history and description Berlin
Statistics
- Members
- 31
- Popularity
- 876,638
- Rating
- (2.00)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 3
- ASINs
- 1
