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Berlin Airlift Memorial (Luftbrückendenkmal)

Berlin Airlift Memorial (Luftbrückedenkmal) on Platz der Luftbrücke, referred to by Berliners as the Hungerharke (Hunger Rake) or Hungerkralle (Hunger Claw) and in the background Tempelhof AirportLooming over a small park on the Platz der Luftbrücke in Tempelhof, the Berlin Airlift Memorial (Luftbrückendenkmal) is dedicated to those who gave their lives to save the people of West Berlin during the Berlin Blockade.

On 24 June 1948, Stalin closed off all road and rail routes to Berlin in an attempt to starve the people and force the allied powers to give up West Berlin.  In response, the allies launched a massive aid effort and over the course of 11 months almost 278,000 flights flew in 2.3 million tonnes of goods.

For more information about the blockade and airlift I recommend watching the documentaries The Candy Bomber and The Story of a Great Achievement.

Berlin Airlift Memorial (Luftbrückedenkmal) on Platz der Luftbrücke, referred to by Berliners as the Hungerharke (Hunger Rake) or Hungerkralle (Hunger Claw)

The Berlin Airlift Memorial, by the Bauhaus architect Eduard Ludwig, commemorates the service men and women who died thwarting Stalin’s plans to bring West Berlin to its knees.

Unveiled in 1951, the memorial is 20m of curved reinforced concrete with three prongs representing the three air corridors between West Germany and West Berlin used during the airlift.  Its appearance has earned it the nicknames Hungerharke (Hunger Rake) and Hungerkralle (Hunger Claw).

The base of the Berlin Airlift Memorial (Luftbrückedenkmal) on Platz der Luftbrücke, referred to by Berliners as the Hungerharke (Hunger Rake) or Hungerkralle (Hunger Claw) A wreath left on the base of the Berlin Airlift Memorial (Luftbrückedenkmal) on Platz der Luftbrücke, referred to by Berliners as the Hungerharke (Hunger Rake) or Hungerkralle (Hunger Claw) Names inscribed on the base of the Berlin Airlift Memorial (Luftbrückedenkmal) on Platz der Luftbrücke, referred to by Berliners as the Hungerharke (Hunger Rake) or Hungerkralle (Hunger Claw)

The names of the 78 who died are inscribed in brass on the base under the dedication, Sie gaben ihr Leben für die Freiheit Berlins im Dienste der Luftbrücke 1948/1949 (They gave their lives for the freedom of Berlin in service of the airlift).

When I visited to take some photos, a wreath had been placed at the base of the memorial. The card with it read:

Age shall not weary them
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We shall remember them

This is a partial quote (with a minor error) from the Ode of Remembrance taken from the Laurence Binyon poem, For the Fallen, written to honour men lost in the First World War.

Berlin Airlift Memorial (Luftbrückedenkmal) on Platz der Luftbrücke, referred to by Berliners as the Hungerharke (Hunger Rake) or Hungerkralle (Hunger Claw) with people walking past for scale

The Berlin Airlift Memorial (Luftbrückendenkmal) is in front of the main entrance to Tempelhof Airport, just yards from U-Bahnhof Platz der Luftbrücke.

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3 Responses to Berlin Airlift Memorial (Luftbrückendenkmal)

  1. tqe | Adam 24 June, 2016 at 08:57 #

    You should note that the memorial in Berlin is actually only a third of the memorial: other parts are in Frankfurt/Main and Celle.

    https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luftbr%C3%BCckendenkmal

  2. Michael 25 February, 2017 at 17:28 #

    The memorial in Berlin was the original, preceding its sister memorials by more than three decades, so to many, this one will always remain THE memorial.

  3. Bruce Swales 10 June, 2017 at 16:27 #

    Just watching motor racing from Templehof which reminded me of when I was serving with the Royal Air Force Germany Band. I remember playing at the memorial for what , I think was the 20th anniversary in 1968. Very impressive.

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