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Helena P. Schrader
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The Blockade Breakers: The Berlin Airlift Kindle Edition

by Helena P Schrader (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 out of 5 stars 39 ratings
On 24 June 1948 the Sovient Union abrubtly closed all land and water access to the Western Sectors of Berlin. Over 2 million civilians, dependent on the surrounding territory and the West for food, fuel, and other basic goods, were suddenly cut off from all necessities of life. The Western Allies had the option of withdrawing their garrisons and allowing the Soviet Union to take control of the entire city, or of trying to supply the city by air. Never in history had 2 million people been supplied exclusively by air before. None of the senior military commanders believed it could be done. But the political leadership in London and Washington insisted that it must be done. A withdrawal from Berlin would discredit the West at a critical moment in history, when the Soviet Union was expanding aggressively across Europe. Worse, it would endanger the political stability and economic recovery of all of Europe. So the largest and most ambition Airlift in history was set in motion. It began without the West really knowing what the Berliners needed in order to survive -- much less how much those supplies weighed. It was launched despite a lack of airlift expertise in theatre or a unified command structure, an almost complete absence of aircraft and aircrew resources in Germany and serious inadequacies in airfields and air traffic control. But once it took wing, it flew and turned into something that not even its originators and advocators had ever imagined or expected.
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  1. Print length
    322 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    The History Press
  4. Accessibility
    Learn more
  5. Publication date
    September 30, 2011
  6. File size
    2.8 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Helena P. Schrader earned a PhD in History from University of Hamburg with a ground-breaking biography of the mastermind behind the coup attempt against Hitler on July 20, 1944, General Friedrich Olbricht. She earned her BA in History from the University of Michigan and an MA in Diplomacy and International Commerce at the Patterson School, University of Kentucky. 
 
Helena has published numerous works of non-fiction and fiction. Her non-fiction books are focused on the German Resistance to Hitler, Women in Aviation in WWII and the Berlin Airlift. As a novelist, she has focused on historical fiction and biographical fiction set in Ancient Sparta, the Middle Ages and World War Two (WWII). Visit her website: helenapschrader.com for a complete, description and reviews of her publications, or follow her blog: schradershistoricalfiction.blogspot.com for updates on current works in progress or recent reviews and publications.
 
Helena is a career Foreign Service Officer currently serving in Africa.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0078XH8T8
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The History Press
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 30, 2011
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ UK ed.
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.8 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 322 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780752456003
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0752468037
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 39 ratings

About the author

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Helena P. Schrader

Helena P. Schrader

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Helena P. Schrader

Award-Winning and Best-Selling Historical Novelist

Author of 26 Historical Fiction and Non-Fiction Titles, Winner of numerous literary accolades

“Helena Schrader’s in-depth stories, fantastic characters, and ability to write an unforgettable tale make her one of the best authors out there!” Feathered Quill

For readers tired of clichés and cartoons, award-winning novelist Helena P. Schrader offers nuanced insight into historical events and figures based on sound research and an understanding of human nature. Her complex and engaging characters bring history back to life as a means to better understand ourselves. Her motto is: Understanding ourselves by Understandig the Past. Helena’s chief areas of expertise are Aviation, the Second World War, Ancient Sparta, and the Crusader States.

Helena's current project is the three-part "The Bridge to Tomorrow Series," which shows how the West stopped Russian aggression without war during the Berlin Crisis of 1948/1949. The series goes beyond the political chess game and logistical achievements of the Berlin Airlift to explore the social and psychological impact of this pivotal historical event. The characters -- women and men, British, American, German and Ukrainian -- enable the reader to see the unfolding events through different perspectives. As the reader gets drawn into their lives, the historical tensions rise, and the trilogy accelerates the pace to that of a thriller. "The Bridge to Tomorrow Series" is about winning a war with milk, coal and candy bars.

The first book in the series, "Cold Peace," won six literary accolades including GOLD for Military Fiction in the Historical Fiction Company's 2023 Book Awards, Gold in the 2024 Feathered Quill Awards, runner-up for the Historical Fiction Company's prestigious BOOK OF THE YEAR award in 2023, an Indie BRAG medallion and a Maincrest Media Award. For an overview of all Helena's awards please visit her website.

Helena holds a PhD in history from the University of Hamburg, which she earned with a ground-breaking biography of a leader of the German Resistance to Hitler, and served as an American diplomat in Europe and Africa. She grew up sailing the Maine coast, was a passionate horsewoman, and is now retired and living with her husband and two dogs.

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4.4 out of 5 stars
39 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • skatepark
    5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Story
    Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2024
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    A scholarly work that can become tedious in its detail. But taken as a whole a compelling and captivating tail about what is possible when necessity need.
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  • Steve_Mays
    5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and fun read!
    Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    I was in Berlin a few weeks ago and saw this book for too much in the touristy area on Unter den Linden and figured I could find it cheaper and easier on Amazon. I was right and it was about 1/2 price on Amazon. I walked around Tempelhof airport so I had some sense of the place where a lot of the Berlin airlift landed so it made the book that much more engaging. I found the book to be very engaging, even more so than I thought. It was a fun/fast read and something that many folks my age that I questioned in the US knew nothing about.
    3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Barbie
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very Informative
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 16, 2024
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    The person I purchased this for had taken part in some of the exercises written about in this book. He was overjoyed with this book. He said it was the most informative account he had ever read. Being 96, his eyesight isn’t perfect, and the text is small in this book, but he read and enjoyed every word.
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  • john stretch
    5.0 out of 5 stars Well written and covering the subject widely
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 19, 2023
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    The author has, or had, another job - Foreign Service Officer , but this book puts many other, full time authors to shame. It comprehensively captures the reasons why the blockade started, the problems as well as the achievements of the airlift, and the results in both statistics and by stories. I have now read three books on the airlift and could have saved time, as well as boredom, on the other two. My interest, my father was in the RAF and took part, as aircrew, in the airlift. I was only six when it ended and he returned to UK but his recollections were very much in line with this book, but only on a narrower front.
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  • Don Davis
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating slice of history!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 1, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    This is an extremely well written book telling an amazing story! Even now it seems wholly unlikely that a major city could be kept supplied by air, particularly in the fraught climate immediately post-war and in the face of Stalin's brutal attempt to extend the Soviet empire into the West. It's clear from the narrative that the history of the second half of the 20th century would have been extremely different had the Western powers backed down in the face of the Soviet challenge, and in retrospect it's to the decision to mount the airlift, and its success, that we owe the freedom we enjoy today. Who knows what limit there would otherwise have been on Soviet expansion? And the book was made even more interesting for me having recently come to know an ex-RAF pilot, now in his 90's, who actually flew on the Airlift for Skyways, one of the civilian contractors.
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Berlin Airlift
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 21, 2020
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    My father was a navigator on one of the planes that flew into Berlin to bring much needed supplies to the Capital. A brilliant read about the conditions that faced these men and shed a new light to me on what the cold war with Russia meant and how it came about. We were lucky not to go from one fanatic leader to an equally fanatical leader Stalin with control of Europe. A gripping read.
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  • Menigma
    5.0 out of 5 stars So much I didn't know about this incredible feat of human endeavour
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 31, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Like most people, I knew of the Berlin Airlift in a vague wikipedia kind of way. I hadn't appreciated the multiple strands of political machinations, logistical requirements, technological shortcomings, crew sacrifice and the sheer courage of the West Berliners not to sell their soul to the vile Stalin. The author does a great job of weaving a very detailed but easy to follow story of an incredible task of human achievement and everybody, from the top to the bottom, gets the respect they deserve. It also avoids the pitfall of being a numbers and anecdote book, which for something as amazing as the Berlin Airlift would have been an easy trap to fall into.

    On a more patriotic note, I hadn't realised just how much the RAF (and how respected their pilots and mechanics were) and GB civil airlines contributed to the Airlift and must commend the author for not solely focusing on the USAF which carried the bulk of the tonnage. It also occurred to me that when the Airlift started in 1948 Britain was economically bankrupt following the Second World War and still rationed many everyday items. Despite all this Britain started the Airlift (first planes in) and formed the NHS in the same year. Talk about setting the bar high.

    Overall I thoroughly recommend this book. You will not be disappointed.
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