The Berlin Blockade was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War period.
Simmering tensions between the occupying powers of post-war Berlin boiled over in 1948 when the Soviet Union limited the ability of the United States, Great Britain, and France to travel to their sectors of the city by blocking all road, rail, and canal access to the western zones of Berlin. Overnight, some 2.5 million civilians had no access to food, medicines, fuel, electricity, and other basic goods.
In response, the Western Allies organized the Berlin Airlift to carry supplies to the besieged citizens in what became one of the biggest humanitarian operations of all time.
Click through the gallery and be reminded of those who risked their lives in delivering much-needed everyday items, and the perseverance of a population in lockdown.