Albritton Center, Texas A&M Libraries To Host Berlin Airlift Commemorative Symposium
The Albritton Center for Grand Strategy at the Texas A&M University Bush School of Government & Public Service and Texas A&M University Libraries will host “The Berlin Airlift and the Making of the Cold War” on Thursday, April 11.
The daylong symposium, which will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift, features events that will begin at 8:30 a.m. in the Evans Library and concluding at 6 p.m. in the Cushing Library on Texas A&M’s campus.
A full agenda is available for download.
The symposium will feature panel discussions throughout the day in room 204E of the Evans Library. At 9:30 a.m., Jim Fullingim, Dan Harrington, and Roger Miller will re-examine the dramatic events of the airlift.
At 12:30 p.m., Jason Johnson, Adam Seipp, and Paul Steege will present talks on Germany in the early Cold War. In the final panel at 2:30 p.m., Dan Altman, Scott Krause, Josh Shifrinson, and Kaete O’Connell will discuss the legacies and lessons learned from the airlift and early Cold War. All panel discussions will take place in room 204E at the Evans Library. Light refreshments will be provided at 8:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Following the panel discussions, the symposium will honor Gail Halvorsen, the Berlin Airlift pilot known as the “Candy Bomber,” at a public reception from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Cushing Library. The Texas A&M University Libraries will also have an “Aggies in the Airlift” exhibit on display at the reception honoring former students, faculty, and staff from Texas A&M who participated in the airlift.
The Berlin Airlift was a multinational response to the Berlin Blockade (June 24, 1948‒May 12, 1949), when Soviet forces blocked rail, road, and water access to Allied-controlled areas of post-WWII Berlin. Within days of the blockade, the U.S. Air Force launched “Operation Vittles,” followed closely by the Royal Air Force’s “Operation Plainfare,” which flew sorties of American and British bombers laden with emergency supplies to the German civilians affected by the blockade. By the conclusion of the Berlin Airlift in September 1949, air crews from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa had delivered almost three million tons of food, water, clothing, fuel, and other necessities to the people of Berlin.
All symposium events are free and open to the public. Those interested in attending should register by April 9, 2019. Links to online registration and parking information is available at tx.ag/BerlinAirlift.
Media contact: Kelley A Robbins, 979-847-9330, bushschoolcgs@tamu.edu.
