The Berlin Airlift is one of the great battles of the Cold War, and arguably one of the most misunderstood.
Andrei Cherny spent years researching his book *The Candy Bombers *and shared his insightful understanding of the conflict during a session at the Pritzker Military Library in 2008.
I listened to the podcast today and was fascinated by just how pivotal this conflict was to the eventual victory of the Western Powers in the Cold War.
Most interesting is the discussion of how the key players in the Airlift – Truman, Wedemeyer , Tunner, and Halvorsen – were all seen as second-stringers, unworthy of those those who came before them. They couldn’t compare with the great men of the WWII and the military men had not seen action during the war.
Prior to listening to this podcast, I lacked a true understanding of the political climate leading into the airlift and just how unlikely its success was. History can change on a dime, this is a great example of that.
Visit the Pritzker library page and enjoy this informative discussion.