Boroda...Operation Vittles

[midnight Target]

I recently read an article decribing the huge effort made in 1948 to ferry supplies and food to Berlin, sometimes called "The Berlin Airlift" or "Operation Vittles", due to a Soviet blockade attempt. I am curious as to how this may have been reported in the USSR.

Thanks

[Maverick]

Like this":

The poor downtrodden Berliners were attempting to pare down their weight in a glorious attempt to show their joy at the proximity of the wondrous virtues of Comunist thought when those EVIL westerners foiled their attempt by flying in tons of food to corrupt the defenseless Berliners. Down with Capitalism!!



That should be pretty darn close!  

[miko2d]

Originally posted by midnight Target
I am curious as to how this may have been reported in the USSR.

 The fact that you even ask the question how shows that you have no idea how authoritarian regime works - and I envy you in that.

 Why would they ever have reported to us that any airlift took place? It's not like we could have learned of that from foreign newspaper so that a communist one had a reason to counter "capitalist lies". Arguing any point, especially if you are in the wrong is asking for trouble. Much easier to keep the people ignorant.

 That's what Iron Curtain was all about.

 miko

[midnight Target]

I appreciate your envy Miko, but I am not as naive as you think. I said "may have been reported". I fully expected one of the possible answers to my question to be "huh?".

[pimpjoe]

huh?

[lord dolf vader]

midnight dont like ruuskis methinks


a interesting thread and nice bbs

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=110767

[midnight Target]

Originally posted by lord dolf vader
midnight dont like ruuskis methinks

Don't know why you would say that? I am honestly curious about the differences in historical reporting. I like Boroda just fine.....for a commie pinko....

[Udie]

Originally posted by midnight Target


Don't know why you would say that? I am honestly curious about the differences in historical reporting. I like Boroda just fine.....for a commie pinko....

Well isn't that the communist calling the commie pink!

[midnight Target]

Originally posted by Udie



Well isn't that the communist calling the commie pink!

Pot...kettle...etc...etc.

[Udie]

Just kidding of course, you're no commie  Just had to get that in there hehe. I'm a real fun guy after I've been home for about 15 min


meep!

[Boroda]

I heard something about it, and I'll try to find some info about it in books from Soviet time.

Miko, let me remind you about one of Kozma Prutkov's wisdoms: "Nelzya obyat' neobyatnoe".

It wasn't in school history books, as well as many episodes of Civil war in Russia never appeared in the US school books. I never was interested in this events. There are much more interesting episodes for me, for example - Russo-Japanese war.

[midnight Target]

One explanation I read was that the USSR changed the currency in E. Germany, and used that as an excuse to restrict travel to & from the allied sector of Berlin.
This was an obvious attempt to isolate Berlin from West Germany. The Soviets did not interfere with the airlift, because they never thought it would succeed.

edit - This is hardly comparable to the civil war in Russia, as this little piece of history did involve both the USSR and the USA.

[Boroda]

Well, the 1948 story when he GDR was founded, based on Soviet occupation zone is well known. The story repeated later in Korea, and you know the result...

Again, as usual, you accuse evil Russians of something they never did. Berlin was divided into occupation zones (extremely stupid from my POW - why let the "allies" control what we fought for?), and it was the "allies" problem how to supply their anclave.

IMHO, the very existance of West Berlin was a quiestion of good will from Soviet side.

The Berlin highway was an unbelievable thing. My Grand Dad was a moblie missile-technical base commander in E. Germany in late 50s - early 60s. Several times he had to arrest american "tourists" who drove in the middle of a convoy that carried nuke warheads.  

Civil war in Russia involved US occupation forces in Archangelsk and Far East, and resulted in uncovered stealing of Russian weapon and gold stocks. We still pay for weapons stolen by US "expedition corps". I bet you never read about it in your history books.

Huh... If only Allied nations decided to crush bolsheviks in 1918, but they preferred to simply plunder what possible in Russia

[AKDejaVu]

LOL Baroda!

I don't know what's worse... you offhandeldly dismissing the fact that Russia had West Berlin completely surrounded and was not allowing any vehicles in or out...

Or you offhandedly discussing how many times someone interupted a procession of trucks hauling nuclear missiles.

No wonder we won.

AKDejaVu

[Ripsnort]

Post war Germany was divided into three sections, the Allied part was controlled by the United States, Great Britain and France and the other part by the Soviet Union. The city of Berlin, although located in the eastern Soviet half,was
also divided into four sectors --West Berlin occupied by Allied interests and East Berlin                                                          occupied by Soviets. In June 1948, the Soviet
Union attempted to control all of Berlin by
cutting surface traffic to and from the city of
West Berlin. Starving out the population and cutting off their business was their method of gaining control.(and I'm POSITIVE that the Russian history books conviently left part out Borodo! ) [/i] The Truman administration reacted with a continual daily airlift which brought much needed food and supplies into the city of West Berlin.

This Airbridge to Berlin lasted until the end of September of 1949---although on May 12, 1949, the Soviet government yielded and lifted the blockade.