Berlin
Berlin Airlift exhibits
After the end of World War II, the Reichsmark continued to be the valid means of payment in Germany. Food and other goods were only available on food stamps and ration coupons. The amount of money in circulation was not matched by any goods that could be purchased with it. This led to inflation, and the Reichsmark was almost worthless. In 1946, the Allied Control Council began discussing a currency reform for all of Germany. However, no agreement was reached between the Western occupying powers and the Soviet Union. On March 20, 1948, the Soviet Union left the Allied Control Council in protest against the London Conference of the Six Powers, which was thus practically unable to act. Thereupon, on June 20, 1948, a separate currency reform took place in the 3 western zones. From the following day, the "Deutsche Mark (DM)" was the sole means of payment there. Since the Reichsmark continued to be the valid means of payment in the SBZ and in Berlin, a hyperinflation caused by a flood of Reichsmark stocks from the West was feared. To prevent this, the Soviet Military Administration blocked all passenger and freight traffic between the Western zones and Berlin. From June 23, 1948, Reichsmark banknotes with coupons affixed were issued in Berlin and the SBZ. From June 24, 1948, the new "Deutsche Mark" (West) came into circulation in the western sectors of Berlin.
© COLD WAR MUSEUM
Reichsmark (with coupon "1948")
The coupon mark remained valid for about a month, and from July 24, 1948, the "Deutsche Mark der Deutschen Notenbank" was issued.
© COLD WAR MUSEUM
German mark (from 1948)
From June 24, 1948, the new "Deutsche Mark" (West) came into circulation in the western sectors of Berlin. We show here a half Deutsche Mark from the first series of 1948. The bill is perforated with a large "B". This limited its validity to Berlin. This is also the origin of the colloquial name "Bärenmark".
© COLD WAR MUSEUM
"OPERATION VITTLES" - TEMPELHOF A TRANSPORTATION CORPS MILESTONE
This is a 28-page typewritten report with hand drawings and pasted photographs. It contains the description of the organization and operation of Operation Vittles with statistics and evaluations.
Operation Vittles was the code name for the airlift.
Exhibit "A" (EXHIBIT "A") shows the process of unloading at Tempelhof Airport.
The arrived airplanes move in an arc parallel to the airport building (8; 9). The empty trucks stand by in front of the building (10, 11), are loaded from the aircraft (12). Trucks loaded with coal move to the coal ramp (15) where they are unloaded into rail cars. Trucks with other goods drive to the unloading ramp 18. After unloading, the trucks return to the loading standby (10; 11).
© COLD WAR MUSEUM
Operation Vittles Cookbook
Operation Vittles, a cookbook compiled by U.S. women in blockaded Berlin, Deutscher Verlag, January 1949. The book contains recipes that could be prepared with the canned food delivered in care packages.
© COLD WAR MUSEUM
Letter with first day envelope "100 days airlift".
What is special about this letter is that it was posted in West Germany and transported to Berlin by airlift, finally to be delivered in Oberschönweide in East Berlin. This letter thus shows that despite the blockade of the western part of the city by the Soviet Union, border traffic within Berlin was still possible.
© COLD WAR MUSEUM
