The Berlin Airlift Memorial is a monument located at the entrance to the former Tempelhof airport. It commemorates a seminal episode in the history of West Berlin, when the city was supplied by air during the Soviet blockade in 1948/49.
A Visit to the Airlift Memorial Is Optional.
In 1948, the merger of the American, British and French zones of occupation in Germany, followed by the adoption of a single currency to the exclusion of the Soviets, plunged Berlin into crisis. On June 24, a blockade began, preventing all overland supplies. More than two million people were trapped in West Berlin, without electricity, coal or adequate food supplies. At the time, the German states did not yet exist. In the absence of a diplomatic solution, the military took the initiative, with the risk of escalation and conflagration.
However, the Allies took a highly original approach. Taking advantage of the air corridors between their sectors of occupation in Germany and West Berlin, they organized an impressive air supply program. For a whole year, thousands of planes took off and landed every day at airports right in the middle of the city, first at Tempelhof and then at Tegel. The project required excellent coordination, perfect planning and the mobilization of all possible human and economic resources. The latent conflict thus saw military logistics prevail over operations in the strict sense.
On May 12, 1949, the Soviets lifted the Soviet blockade. Ten days later, the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany was promulgated, founding a West German state. It was also a time for remembrance: over a hundred people, both civilian and military, had lost their lives during the airlift. In 1951, the first monument was unveiled at the entrance to Tempelhof airport. In the 1980s, larger and smaller-scale copies were installed at former homeports near Frankfurt am Main, Hanover and Hamburg.
A Poorly Presented Original Ensemble
The Airlift Memorial is located in the Kreuzberg district, near the main entrance to Tempelhof airport. The airport has not been used for air traffic since the 2000s, and the immediate surroundings along the main avenues have become parking lots. The hustle and bustle of days gone by has given way to the emptiness of a residential area, albeit a rather banal one, criss-crossed by the incessant flow of motorists. Isolated on a semi-wooded median strip, the memorial goes almost unnoticed.
Twenty metres high, the concrete monument is grey in color. It takes the form of a slightly curved vertical stele topped by three end caps. The idea is to represent the air bridge between the Trizone's three home ports in the west and Berlin's three airports: Gatow (British sector), Tegel (French sector) and, of course, Tempelhof (American sector). Its design is reminiscent of a scraping tool, earning it the nickname “Hungerharke” (rake of hunger) from Berliners of the time.
On the monument's base, the names of those who lost their lives during the airlift are inscribed: barely a hundred, which underlines the miracle and success of the undertaking. The victims perished in clashes with the Soviet air force or when the aircraft crashed. Consequently, both the military and civilians are honored. Although details are lacking, this initiative is an implicit reminder of the mobilization of West Germans on the side of the Allies. A few explanatory panels complete the scene, which ultimately proves rather dull and unattractive.
Understanding West Berlin
Since 1990, the history of West Berlin has gradually disappeared from the national narrative. This is no doubt due to a desire for appeasement and reconciliation. However, Berliners never spoke of East and West Berlin before 1961 and the building of the Wall. The events of 1948/49 therefore belong to the history of the whole city, irrespective of the sectors occupied. The success of the airlift is the major event in German identity as it existed until German reunification. Not only did the Germans reject Soviet authoritarianism, they also fully and consciously embraced Western democratic rule. What a break, just a few years after the fall of the Third Reich!
The Berlin Airlift Memorial is the original one. It is a historic indicator of changing attitudes in post-war Germany, a symbol of optimism in spite of everything, and the cornerstone of German renewal. And yet, it is gradually being forgotten, due to its almost non-existent place in the memory. It's true that the German capital prefers to focus on reunification projects, as demonstrated by the construction of yet another memorial to national reconciliation on the square in front of the recently rebuilt castle.
Nevertheless, the situation is not hopeless. The major development projects around Tempelhof include plans to relocate the Allied Museum from the Dahlem district to the hangars of the former airport. If these plans come to fruition, it's a safe bet that the now neglected memorial will gain in visibility and importance for the city and for international visitors. Indeed, up until now, the Allied Museum has devoted half of its permanent exhibition to the airlift. Let's just hope that the forthcoming venture is sufficiently disinterested to avoid a new competition between East and West, this time for memorial if not academic purposes.
Reasons to Visit
A very old memorial
The names of the victims
At the entrance to the former Tempelhof airport
Reasons to Skip
Almost no value added
Unattractive aesthetics
Traffic noise
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