As soon as World War II ended the run-up to the Cold War began. Bearing the brunt of the German attacks for much of the war, Russia suffered staggering losses in both men and industry, which they sought to recoup by occupying part of Germany and the lands to the east of Russia. For the people unfortunate enough to find themselves on the wrong side of Germany, the freedoms and promises of prosperity under the hands of the unified West seemed a much better prospect. Many began leaving. Russia, seeing itself deprived of a valuable working force (not to mention a black eye for the pride of the country), clamped down in Berlin.

On this day, September 30, in 1949, after fifteen months, the Berlin Airlift ended. Russia had frozen all foreign transportation by ground to and from the city, effectively laying siege to the American side. In response, the Allies organized an impressive campaign to supply the city by air.

At the height of the lift, the city’s residents were receiving 8,000 ton of supplies daily, and Stalin was assured it could continue indefinitely. His campaign to re-negotiate the status of Germany failed, he called off the siege in spring of 1949. To both sides, the event reinforced the solidifying battle lines of the post-war era. Winston Churchill remarked not long after the Soviet Union was something quite as wicked” as Germany “but in some ways more formidable.”