Historical information on the Double Anniversary 75th Airlift and 60th Kennedy Speech

John F. Kennedy is on his way to Schöneberg City Hall together with Willy Brandt and Konrad Adenauer.

John F. Kennedy

On June 26, 1963, the 35th US President, John F. Kennedy, visited Westberlin. It was the 15th anniversary of the start of the Airlift. At this point, two years after the Berlin Wall was built, the future of the people of West Berlin was completely unclear.
Would West Berlin remain an island of freedom, walled in by the Soviet-occupied GDR? Or would the guarantors of freedom, the Western allies USA, Great Britain, and France, withdraw from the western part of Berlin and leave all of Berlin to the Soviet influence?

In his enthusiastically acclaimed speech in front of the #Rathaus #Schöneberg, Kennedy made it clear: the USA will stand by Berlin and the Berliners. With the words “I am a Berliner” he took people’s hearts by storm.

With the 75th anniversary of the beginning of the #Airlift and the 60th anniversary of Kennedy’s speech, the district of Tempelhof-Schoeneberg is celebrating a double anniversary that is intended to honor the historical meaning of both events.

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  John F. Kennedy is on his way to Schöneberg City Hall together with Willy Brandt and Konrad Adenauer.

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  A rain of confetti accompanies the president on his way to Schöneberg City Hall.

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  Hundreds of thousands are waiting for the president's arrival in front of Schöneberg City Hall.

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  There is a grandstand in front of City Hall where John F. Kennedy will deliver his speech.

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  A final note for John F. Kennedy's speech in front of Schöneberg City Hall.

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  John F. Kennedy speaks to Berliners from the stands in front of Schöneberg City Hall.

Candy Bomber

June 1948, Berlin. The city was divided into four sectors. The Soviet Union controlled the eastern part, and the three Western Allies the western part.

For the first time since the end of World War II, a dramatic conflict broke out between the victorious powers: The Soviet Union blocked access to and from West Berlin and cut off all road and rail connections, including the waterways.
As a result, there was only one way to supply the more than 2 million people in West Berlin: by air.

The US and Great Britain used military planes to fly food, coal, and building materials from West Germany to Tempelhof and Gatow. The population soon affectionately called the planes “Candy Bombers”. The Western Allies supplied the city with 5,000 tons of goods – per day!

The US Colonel Gail Halvorsen became one of the most popular pilots: he had the idea of dropping candy for children and made small parachutes out of handkerchiefs, to which he attached candy.

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  Lieutenant Gail S. Halvorsen amidst Berlin children, 1948

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  C-54 aircraft loaded with coal are unloaded at dawn

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  Lieutenant Gail S. Halvorsen of the Candy Bomber, 1948

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Airlift Memorial

It is one of the most well-known landmarks in our district: the Airlift Memorial at Tempelhof Airport (also called “Hungerharke”). The three claws symbolize the three air corridors through which the enclosed Western part of the city was supplied by air during the blockade from June 1948 to May 1949.

The air corridors led from Frankfurt am Main, Hanover and Hamburg to Berlin’s three airports Tempelhof, Gatow and Tegel.

The United States, Great Britain and France used the airlift to supply food and raw materials to the people of encircled West Berlin. The Airlift Memorial was officially inaugurated on July 10, 1951.

Did you know: the Airlift Memorial is located in three German cities: Berlin, Frankfurt a. Main and Celle near Hanover.

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  Candy Bomber on the Havel

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  The Airlift Monument at the Platz der Luftbrücke in Tempelhof

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  Candy Bombers at Tempelhof Airport

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  A candy bomber approaching Tempelhof Airport

Kennedy Rede vor dem Rathaus Schöneberg