As I write, the first presidential “debate” is underway and, while the bulk of the debate has, thanks to our president, degenerated into a juvenile schoolyard name-calling contest. Among the many things lost in the president’s sadly infantile attacks is the fact that freedom is among the many things at stake in this consequential election. With that in mind, it’s worth pausing for a moment to consider the subject of today’s #stampoftheday, Ernst Reuter, who was mayor of Berlin during the 1948 Berlin Airlift. He was honored on 4- and 8-cent stamps issued on September 29, 1959, the sixth anniversary of his untimely death.
To appreciate Reuter, you have to recall that in February 1945, towards the end of World War II Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin agreed to divide both Germany into zones administered by each Allied power and to divide Berlin, which was surrounded by the Soviet Zone, into four zones governed by the major powers (the USSR, US, Great Britain and France). The Soviet Union, however, refused to allow the other sectors of the city to be supplied from the Soviet Zone and instead set aside a single highway and railroad line and three 20-mile wide air corridors.
When elections were held in Berlin in October 1946, the communist candidates lost decisively, to the Social Democrats, and Reuter, the party’s mayoral candidate. A long-time politician who had served before the Nazi’s came to power, Reuter had been jailed by the Nazis before escaping the Turkey. The Soviet Union, however, blocked his selection as mayor. Undaunted, he had business cards made that read, “Ernst Reuter, the Elected but Unconfirmed Lord Mayor of Berlin.” To those who counseled accommodation with the Russians, Reuter replied, “It is not my business to act like a terrified rabbit staring at a snake.” Instead he kept preparing for the confrontation he believed was imminent as tensions mounted.
The flashpoint for the crisis became currency reform, specifically the Western plan to introduce a new deutschmark in Berlin in June 1948. The Soviets refused to agree and introduced their own currency in response. Then, just before midnight on June 23, the day the Western deutschmark hit the streets, the Soviets cut electric power to West Berlin. On June 24, the Soviets blockaded Berlin and halted all land and water access to the city. Despite having run a mini-airlift to re-supply the American garrison for ten days in April, Clay was in no position to feed Berlin from the air. The United States Air Force had only 102 transport planes in all of Europe, and these C-47s, nicknamed “Gooney-Birds,” could only carry three tons each. Berliners needed a minimum of 4,500 tons every day, and they currently had only about a month’s extra food rations in the city and 45 days of coal. Furthermore, West Berlin had only two airports, and both needed improvements. When he told Reuter about his plan, the unofficial mayor said you “take care of the airlift [and] I’ll take care of the Berliners,” who, he said, would make “all necessary sacrifices.”
Even though he thought the effort would fail, Clay set the airlift (named “Operation Vittles”) in motion on June 26, with 32 flights delivering some 80 tons of supplies. The British, the airlift’s strongest advocates, began their own “Operation Plainfare” two days later. And both the number of aircraft and the tonnage delivered began to increase and by August the airlift began meeting the 4,500-ton daily target. Over the course of 15 months, the airlift would bring in more than two million tons of food and coal. For their part, the citizens of Berlin did what they could to help their own cause. About 18,000 labored on the construction of a new airport, in the French sector; that opened in November 1948.
Throughout this time, Reuter continued to offer hope to the city’s residents and demand help from the West. After a communist mob took over City Hall in September, Reuter led a massive counter-demonstration on the steps of the Reichstag. Rejecting any compromise with the Soviets, Reuter declared, “Today no diplomat or general will speak or negotiate. Today the people of Berlin will make their voice heard. People of America, England, France, Italy—look at this city. You cannot abandon this city and its people. You should not abandon it.”
When the blockade finally ended on May 12, 1949, Berliners poured forth in celebration. Reuter was reelected in 1951 and continued to refuse to work with the communists “foolish enough to believe that ideas can be stopped by roadblocks and ditches.” He helped found the Free University of Berlin, as well as the Mayor Reuter Foundation, which provided assistance to refugees entering West Berlin. Unfortunately, Reuter suffered a heart attack and died on September 29, 1953. More than one million people attended his funeral. A number of streets and buildings have been named in his honor, as well as an award given by the city of Berlin.
So there’s where we’re at. The president of the United States did nothing to show that he is capable of standing up for freedom if and when times call for a Reuter-like figure. Hopefully, confronted by such a situation, we won’t act like terrified rabbits staring at snakes.
Be well, stay safe, fight for justice and work for peace.