Few notice them anymore,
The urchins of the street staring up at the metal streaming through the air,
Each grimy youth covered in torn clothes atop a starving frame of muscle and bone,
Too young to have much of a memory of the war,
Old enough to build a memory of now,
Their faces lifted to the sky,
They hope,
They dream,
They plead,
This one. . ., 
This one. . ., 
This one. . . , until out of a cockpit window of one in the line of C-47’s, small objects fall to the earth,
A mad scramble,
A dash through the ruble strewn streets,
Shimmering sun glistening off the morning dew through which they fall is blocked by the broken masonry of a bombed out wall,
Arms flail,
Legs kick out,
The small scurry,
The bigger force,
The oldest and heaviest crush,
Not enough for everyone, even though some have stores in their pockets,
Out of the scrum the urchins break free,
Pulling open wrappers,
Breaking off pieces,
Sharing with those who did not prevail,
Smiles replace frowns for a moment,
Kindness steps in for greed,
Faces turn skyward again,
New Hope,
New Life,
From those who just a few years before were dropping a far more menacing item upon the city,
A thanks to a former foe, who now offers chocolate while delivering coal for heat,
A new war, Cold as it may be,
Warming the heart to know friends are out there,
Just over 100 miles away,
Sending what they can,
So we may live,
And throwing in a little something sweet,
We may love.

On June 24, 1948 the Soviet occupation authorities in Eastern Germany, within which Berlin was a divided city occupied by the four victors of World War II, announced a complete shutdown of all rail and road traffic to the non-Soviet occupied zones. What became known as the Berlin Blockade was an attempt by the Soviets to force the other occupying powers out of Berlin. In defiance of this blockade, the United States, United Kingdom, and France began a massive airlift to feed, clothe, and heat the cut-off city. Flying into the remaining two airports, and even landing flying boats along a Berlin river, a steady stream of transport aircraft delivered food, coal, and clothing while whisking out the sick, malnourished, and persecuted from across Europe who had ended up in the Western Zone of Berlin. For almost a year the Berlin Airlift provided hope and life to a city separated from the rest of the world. This was the first major crisis and test of the West in the Cold War. By May 12, 1949 the Soviets realized the Blockade had failed. In that time more than 1.5 million tons of coal, food, clothing and other life essential goods had been flown into West Berlin while more than 50,000 people were airlifted out. The citizens of that part of the city were now eating more calories per day than they had before the blockade began. Rather than force the western powers out of Berlin, the Blockade solidified their desire to stay, providing a motivating force to come together, unify their zones of occupation, and give the people of the city hope in themselves, their role in a new West Germany, and a future they could build together. On May 12, 1949 the Soviets reopened the road and rail routes to Berlin, ending the Blockade.