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Sweet Victory: How the Berlin Airlift Divided East and West
The fascinating story of how a forgotten group of airmen—who had spent World War II dropping Allied bombs on Berlin—risked their lives in 1948-49 dropping chocolate bars from the sky.
After Hitler’s defeat in World War II, Europe’s ruins were divided between East and West. The center of the struggle for influence was Berlin, split between the victorious Allied powers: the Soviets on one side and the Anglo-American and French forces on the other. Berlin was closer to the Soviet border than Paris, a strategic springboard for Stalin to rule Central Europe.
In June of 1948, three years after the war, Stalin made his move to take complete control of the city. Laying siege, he blocked off supplies and transport to the Western sectors. The stakes could not have been higher: the Russian leader risked nuclear conflict. A false move––even one American plane shot down by Russian fighters––could mean the atomic drop that American generals were contemplating. Was Berlin worth this enormous risk, and how would the West react?
The Soviets expected West Berlin would be easy to win. They were stunned when their adversaries launched, instead, a daring operation to supply Berlin by plane. With 277,500 flights in total, one landing in Berlin every three minutes, British and American pilots delivered 2.3 million tons of essentials such as coal and flour and, famously, candy and chocolate. The Berlin Airlift became the largest air operation in history.
The airlift, meanwhile, transformed West Germans from foes into willing partners against Stalin. In this sense, the first victory against Germany came in 1945—when the Allied powers pummeled it into submission. The sweet victory came three years later when the Western powers conquered the hearts and minds of their former enemy.
The Berlin Airlift is one of the century’s most dangerous and least understood crises of the twentieth century. Inexperienced and armed to the teeth, the world’s superpowers surveyed each other for the first time. The Cold War began in this city in 1948-49, just as it would end there forty years later.
After Hitler’s defeat in World War II, Europe’s ruins were divided between East and West. The center of the struggle for influence was Berlin, split between the victorious Allied powers: the Soviets on one side and the Anglo-American and French forces on the other. Berlin was closer to the Soviet border than Paris, a strategic springboard for Stalin to rule Central Europe.
In June of 1948, three years after the war, Stalin made his move to take complete control of the city. Laying siege, he blocked off supplies and transport to the Western sectors. The stakes could not have been higher: the Russian leader risked nuclear conflict. A false move––even one American plane shot down by Russian fighters––could mean the atomic drop that American generals were contemplating. Was Berlin worth this enormous risk, and how would the West react?
The Soviets expected West Berlin would be easy to win. They were stunned when their adversaries launched, instead, a daring operation to supply Berlin by plane. With 277,500 flights in total, one landing in Berlin every three minutes, British and American pilots delivered 2.3 million tons of essentials such as coal and flour and, famously, candy and chocolate. The Berlin Airlift became the largest air operation in history.
The airlift, meanwhile, transformed West Germans from foes into willing partners against Stalin. In this sense, the first victory against Germany came in 1945—when the Allied powers pummeled it into submission. The sweet victory came three years later when the Western powers conquered the hearts and minds of their former enemy.
The Berlin Airlift is one of the century’s most dangerous and least understood crises of the twentieth century. Inexperienced and armed to the teeth, the world’s superpowers surveyed each other for the first time. The Cold War began in this city in 1948-49, just as it would end there forty years later.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published December 2, 2025
1 person is currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Pearson
6 booksJoseph Pearson is a writer and historian, author of the books The Airlift / Sweet Victory (The History Press, Pegasus Books, 2025), My Grandfather’s Knife (The History Press, HarperCollins, 2022) and Berlin (Reaktion Press, 2017). His work has appeared in The Guardian, Lettre International, New England Review, AGNI, PRISM International, Geist and many other publications. For more than a decade, he was the author of one of Berlin’s favourite blogs, The Needle. Since 2014, he has been the essayist of the Schaubühne Theatre. He lectures in Berlin at a German university, the Barenboim-Said Akademie, and at New York University in Berlin.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 29, 2025
Have you heard of the Berlin Airlift? I’m asking because many parts of our collective history are being lost. The reason I requested Sweet Victory was to get a more intimate look at the operation. Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I don’t like reading about actual wars, where battles are dissected. But I do like reading about peripheral stories, and the Berlin Airlift fits that criteria. I am amazed at the geopolitical drama and the large-scale logistics that was the airlift. It was a pivotal moment in post-WWII history.
I appreciated the rich narration by Steve Marvel, who elevates the already excellent writing. I knew the basics of the airlift operations, but obviously, Sweet Victory gets to the heart of it and expanded my knowledge on this life-saving effort. There’s a lot of information thrown at you, so plan on reading or listening to the book slowly. There’s lots of great stuff in this book that needs to be seen by new generations about the humanitarian efforts of the Berlin Airlift.
I don’t like reading about actual wars, where battles are dissected. But I do like reading about peripheral stories, and the Berlin Airlift fits that criteria. I am amazed at the geopolitical drama and the large-scale logistics that was the airlift. It was a pivotal moment in post-WWII history.
I appreciated the rich narration by Steve Marvel, who elevates the already excellent writing. I knew the basics of the airlift operations, but obviously, Sweet Victory gets to the heart of it and expanded my knowledge on this life-saving effort. There’s a lot of information thrown at you, so plan on reading or listening to the book slowly. There’s lots of great stuff in this book that needs to be seen by new generations about the humanitarian efforts of the Berlin Airlift.
December 2, 2025
I haven't quite finished this yet, but I wanted to give it a review for publication day! This book is well-researched, informative, and a must-read in my opinion. The narration is excellent and easy to listen to. I'm learning so much, and I know I'm going to have to listen again to make sure I've taken it all in. I don't usually read non-fiction, but this one has held my attention. You do need to be focused while reading or listening or you'll miss important information. I have to keep rewinding if I listen when I'm driving and have to concentrate on busy sections of road!
Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media and Joseph Pearson for a complimentary audio ARC. My review is voluntary, and all opinions are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media and Joseph Pearson for a complimentary audio ARC. My review is voluntary, and all opinions are my own.
December 8, 2025
4 out of 5 Stars
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews