Letters from Berlin: How Children Wrote About the Airlift

In the summer of 1948, the children of West Berlin looked to the skies not for rain, but for salvation. The Soviet Union had cut off all land and water routes to the city, leaving more than two million people isolated and dependent on the steady drone of Allied aircraft. For seven-year-old Mercedes Wild, the sight of a tiny parachute made from a handkerchief drifting from an American cockpit was a moment of pure joy—and the beginning of a correspondence that would outlast the blockade. Her letters to the pilot Gail S. Halvorsen, along with those of other children, became one of the most poignant human stories of the Berlin Airlift, revealing how the youngest residents of the city experienced, feared, and documented the crisis.

What Happened?

On June 24, 1948, in response to the introduction of the Deutsche Mark in the western sectors of Berlin, the Soviet Union initiated a blockade of the city, cutting off all access via roads, railroads, and waterways. Two days later, on June 26, the Berlin Airlift was launched under orders from General Lucius D. Clay. From June 26, 1948, until May 12, 1949, when the Soviet blockade was lifted, the airlift delivered food, coal, and other necessities to over two million people in West Berlin. Flights continued through September 1949 in order to stockpile supplies in case of another blockade. The operation was a massive logistical feat, with aircraft landing at Tempelhof and other airfields around the clock.

Key events of the crisis:

• June 24, 1948: Soviet Union initiates the blockade of Berlin.
• June 26, 1948: The Berlin Airlift begins under General Lucius D. Clay.
• July 1948: Photographs of children hoping for chocolates capture public attention.
• May 12, 1949: The Soviet blockade is lifted.
• September 1949: Flights cease after a stockpile is built up.

How It Was Seen at the Time

At the time, the airlift was seen as a test of Western resolve and a humanitarian necessity. For the children of West Berlin, it was a story of hope and wonder. The German History Documents site notes that a photograph from July 1948 shows children hoping for chocolates, a stark symbol of the emergency. The BBC’s Witness History program described how Mercedes Wild, then seven years old, “struck up a friendship with one of the American pilots who flew supplies into the stricken city.” The museum dedicated to the airlift tells of “little Mercedes’s worries about her chickens, who stopped laying eggs during the Berlin Airlift.” The prevailing mood among children was one of anxiety mixed with excitement, as the daily sight of planes became a routine of survival.

The airlift delivered food and other necessities to over two million people in West Berlin.

Historical Snapshot

Eyewitness Accounts

The most famous child’s account is that of Mercedes Wild. In a BBC Witness History program, she recalled her experience as a seven-year-old during the blockade. According to the BBC, she “struck up a friendship” with one of the American pilots, which began with a letter. The AlliiertenMuseum in Berlin, which has a tour based on the children’s book Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot, describes how the story evolved: “Together with the seven-year-old Mercedes from the children’s book… they get to know the devastated city and little Mercedes’s worries about her chickens, who stopped laying eggs during the Berlin Airlift. But an aid operation by the US pilot Gail S. Halvorsen gives her hope and she writes him a letter.” This letter, and the parachutes of chocolate that followed, became a personal connection that transcended the blockade.

“She struck up a friendship with one of the American pilots who flew supplies into the stricken city.” — BBC World Service, Witness History

Letters & Diaries

The correspondence between Berlin children and American pilots is a vital primary source. The most famous is Mercedes Wild’s letter to Gail S. Halvorsen, which initiated the “chocolate parachute” drops. Halvorsen, an American pilot, began dropping handkerchief parachutes with candy for the children who gathered at the airport. The letters written by Mercedes and other children are preserved in archives. The L. Tom Perry Special Collections at Brigham Young University holds a letter from a Mrs. Krause to Gail S. Halvorsen, dated July 1969, in which she describes her experiences during the Berlin Airlift. The letter is in German, with a translation in English, and is part of the larger Halvorsen papers. Such letters provide a personal, child’s-eye view of the blockade, showing how ordinary people, even the youngest, sought to communicate with those who came to help.

Daily Life

For the children of West Berlin, daily life during the blockade was marked by scarcity and the constant presence of aircraft. The museum description of Mercedes’s story highlights her worries about her chickens, which had stopped laying eggs—a small but telling detail of the food shortages that affected even animals. Children would gather near the airfields, watching the planes land and take off, hoping for the chocolate parachutes that pilots like Halvorsen dropped. The airlift became a rhythm of the city, with the sound of engines overhead a constant reminder of the crisis. Despite the hardship, the children’s letters and the pilot’s responses created a sense of connection and hope, showing that even in the midst of a Cold War confrontation, ordinary human kindness could flourish.

How Historians See It Today

Modern historians view the Berlin Airlift as a decisive event in the early Cold War, demonstrating the West’s determination to hold Berlin and providing a humanitarian lifeline to millions. The children’s letters, particularly those to Halvorsen, are now seen as a powerful testament to the human impact of the crisis. Historians emphasize that these letters show the emotional experience of the blockade from the perspective of the youngest residents, moving beyond the strategic and political dimensions. The story of Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot has become a symbol of the personal relationships that formed across the blockade, and it is now commemorated in museums and educational programs. The letters are also used to illustrate the importance of ordinary people in historical events, showing how a child’s simple act of writing could build a bridge of friendship in a divided world.

The letters from Berlin’s children offer a unique window into the human experience of the airlift. They reveal the fears, hopes, and daily realities of a city under siege, and they remind us that history is not just a story of generals and governments, but of the individuals who lived through it. The correspondence of Mercedes Wild and others like her ensures that the memory of the airlift is not only a tale of military logistics but also a story of courage, kindness, and the enduring power of human connection.