Which U.S. president authorized the Berlin Airlift in 1948?

Harry S. Truman authorized the Berlin Airlift in 1948.

The Soviet Union began the Berlin Blockade on 24 June 1948, cutting road, rail, and canal access between the Western occupation zones of Germany and West Berlin. Truman’s administration responded by supplying the city by air rather than abandoning the Western sectors or provoking a direct military confrontation.

The airlift delivered food, coal, medicine, and other necessities to West Berlin. U.S. and British aircraft made hundreds of thousands of flights during the operation, which continued until the Soviet Union lifted the blockade on 12 May 1949. The crisis strengthened the political division that soon produced two German states.

The airlift predates the Berlin Wall by 13 years, but it is essential background to the Wall’s history. The Wall later sealed the land boundary around West Berlin, whereas the blockade attempted to cut off the city before permanent border fortifications existed.