The 70th anniversary of the air bridge that saved West Berlin from hunger and isolation is at a time when the division of Germany is a memory of the past. The bridge, described as the largest of its kind in history, provided about two million people with supplies and medicines.
In seven decades, on 24 June 1948, Soviet President Joseph Stalin ordered the closure of all land and river routes to the west of Berlin. In order to prevent the German mark from entering the eastern city which was under the control of the Soviets. It also aimed to force the Western allies, the United States, Britain and France, to abandon a project to form a government for their own territories, paving the way for West Germany to force them to hand over West Berlin and annex it to the areas controlled by the Soviet Union.
However, the Allies did not leave Berlin, as they did not hesitate to rescue and prevent the spread of famine through an air bridge through which the besieged city was supplied with fuel, food and medicine.
The bridge, which is still the most important in history in the field of humanitarian aid, began work two days after the closure of the roads, on 26 June 1948. During the period of operation until 12 May 1949, more than 270,000 flights Air transported millions of tons of goods to feed the population of western Berlin, which numbered more than two million people.
The German capital was celebrated yesterday as dignitaries from around the world met in Berlin to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of Berlin's airlift.