On June 24, 1948, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin shut off the flow of food and supplies into West Berlin. Stalin hoped this blockade would force the Americans and their allies to leave the sectors of the city they controlled. Then the Soviet Union could install a Communist government for the whole city. Instead, U.S. and British pilots began a nonstop airlift, using giant cargo planes to supply the city and show Berliners that they would remain free.
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