Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
meanwhile, democracy was beginning to take root, and Germany elected state parliaments
in 1946-47.
The showdown came in June 1948 when the Allies introduced the Deutschmark in their
zones. The USSR regarded this as a breach of the Potsdam Agreement, under which the
powers had agreed to treat Germany as one economic zone. The Soviets issued their own
currency, the Ostmark, and promptly announced a full-scale economic blockade of West
Berlin. The Allies responded with the remarkable Berlin Airlift.
THE BERLIN AIRLIFT
The Berlin Airlift was a triumph of determination and a glorious chapter in Berlin's
post-WWII history. On 24 June 1948, the Soviets cut off all rail and road traffic into the
city to force the Western Allies to give up their sectors and bring the entire city under
their control.
Faced with such provocation, many in the Allied camp urged responses that would
have been the opening barrages of WWIII. In the end wiser heads prevailed, and a
mere day after the blockade began the US Air Force launched 'Operation Vittles'. The
British followed suit on 28 June with 'Operation Plane Fare'.
For the next 11 months Allied planes flew in food, coal, machinery and other sup-
plies to now-closed Tempelhof airport in the western city. By the time the Soviets
backed down, the Allies had made 278,000 flights, logged a distance equivalent to
250 round trips to the moon and delivered 2.5 million tonnes of cargo. The
Luftbrückendenkmal
(Berlin Airlift Memorial) outside the airport honours the effort
and those who died carrying it out.
It was a monumental achievement that profoundly changed the relationship
between Germany and the Western Allies, who were no longer regarded merely as oc-
cupational forces but as Schutzmächte(protective powers).
In June 2012, 486,709 (14.1%) of all people living in Berlin were foreigners. There are
people from 185 nations, including 13,781 Americans, 10,911 Brits, 2541 Australians and
2171 Canadians. Berlin's Turkish community represents the single largest foreign popula-
tion with 101,975 people.
Two German States
In 1949 the division of Germany - and Berlin - was formalised. The western zones evolved
into the Bundesrepublik Deutschland (BRD, Federal Republic of Germany or FRG) with
