The Exchange at 125: We Gave Berlin Residents a Much-Needed Lift

Seventy-two years ago on June 24, the Cold War’s first crisis erupted when the Soviet Union blockaded all access to sectors of Berlin under Western Allies’ control, cutting off 2 million people.

In 1948-49 during the Berlin Airlift, trucks from the West Berlin Exchange delivered food and drinks to pilots on the tarmacs so they could quickly return to delivering 9,000 tons of food, fuel and medical supplies to local residents.