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Transcripts of 45 interviews recorded for The Berlin Airlift , a television documentary produced by 3BM Television for Channel 4's Secret History series and broadcast on 29 June 1998. Those interviewed include individuals and or relatives of individuals connected with the airlift operation which took place in response to the Berlin blockade, 24 June 1948 - October 1949, notably members of the armed forces of UK and USA including the RAF, RN and WAAF, a representative of the Foreign Office, journalists and authors, German interpreters, German civilians and children, members of Soviet administration and relatives of servicemen. Attention is given to direct roles and experience of the airlift but also seeks views of its historical significance to them personally and to the wider world. Topics covered in the interviews relate to causes of the blockade, Stalin's aims for Germany after 1945, the potential threat of war in 1948, British and US responses to the blockade, Soviet intelligence gathering and espionage in the UK Foreign Office, attitudes of British servicemen to American servicemen in Germany and vice versa, German experience of the Soviet conquest of Berlin in 1945 and ensuing occupation, living conditions at the air bases in West Germany and in Berlin, food and fuel shortages, rationing, operation of the black market, prostitution, relations between conquered and occupying forces, 'no fraternisation' rule, the logistics of the airlift operation - aircraft maintenance, loading and unloading of supplies, Soviet harassment, experience of pilots and crew, incidents such as air crashes, evacuation of Berliners including children, and Operation Little Vittles. The role of significant individuals such as Ernest Bevin (1884-1951), British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs at the time, and Gen. Lucius D. Clay (1897-1978), Military Governor of Germany 1947 - 1949, are also discussed. Notable participants include Sir Frank Kenyon Roberts (1907-1998) diplomat and Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs during 1948 - 1949, Mrs Jessamy Waite, widow of Air Cdre Reginald Newnham Waite (1901-1975), who devised and organised the airlift operation, and Col Gail S Halverson who became known as the 'Candy Bomber' for his drops of packages of candy attached to miniature parachutes to the children of Berlin. Transcripts include questions and answers, and the tape counter numbering has been logged. The interviewer is not identified. Where interviews were translated this has been noted. Some names, places or phrases have been guessed at, or spelled phonetically by the transcriber. No information is given about the date or identity of the transcriber.

Typescript transcript of interview with Bess Vahn, sister of James Vahn, US Air Force. Recounts his WW2 experience as a ground radar observer and prisoner of war in Germany, his participation in the Berlin airlift and death in crash of flight from Berlin to Frankfurt 18 Oct 1948. 8pp

Typescript transcript of interview, 1997 May 13, with Sir Frank (Kenyon) Roberts, Principal Private Secretary to Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, 1947-1949, describing events and negotiations leading up to the Berlin Airlift. 26pp

Typescript transcript of interview with Arthur Frederick Maddocks, Foreign Service (later Diplomatic) Washington 1946-1948, Foreign Office, 1949-1951, discussing the causes of the blockade and the role of the Foreign Service and Anglo American relations. Mentions Donald Maclean, British Diplomat and Soviet spy, defected to USSR in 1951. 32pp

Typescript transcript of interview with Flight Lt Dick Arscott, RAF, describing his experience of the initial flight routine for the airlift into West Berlin during 1948. 26pp

Typescript transcript of translated interview with Herbert Monien, former German POW and security worker at Tempelhof airfield during the Berlin airlift 1948-949. Recounting the crash of a US Navy aircraft on 15 November 1948, which was transporting sugar, and rescuing three crew members. Also describes his daily tasks. 7pp

Typescript transcript of translation of interview with Eberhard Diepgen, (b1941) German schoolboy in Berlin during airlift operations 1948-1949 (later Governing Mayor of West Berlin in 1984, 1985-1991, 1996-1999). Comments on the significance of the airlift to East West relations, the demolition of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the reunification of Germany, and reconstruction of Eastern Europe. 15pp

Typescript transcript of interview with Gen Von Scheren, German school boy (1948-1949), describing conditions in East Berlin after 1945, traveling to West Berlin and flying out during the blockade to be reunited with his father in West Germany. Mentions the landing of Sunderland Flying boats in Berlin and the black market. Comments on the Soviet blockade strategy. 18pp

Typescript transcript of translated interview with Gerhard Haupt, German school boy, recalling the end of WW2 and the arrival of the Soviet forces in Berlin. Also described an aircraft crashing into his house during the Berlin Airlift [1948-1949]. Mentions the scarcity of food and the black market in East Berlin. 15pp

Typescript transcript of translated interview with Hertha Tiede, German civilian who worked at Fassberg Air Base, describing the conditions of her family in Berlin after 1945 and during the airlift 1948-1949. Also describes her work at the Air Base, attitudes to British and US servicemen, organising their recreation activities, and her daily tasks in the Air Force News Office. 18pp

Typescript transcript of interview with Manfred Knopf, German civilian, US sector of Berlin1945-1949, describing his childhood experiences, returning to Berlin from West Germany, attitudes to occupying forces, Soviet forces treatment of German women, post-war conditions in Berlin, mass graves, uprising in East Berlin-17 June 1953, rationing and the airlift operation. Mentions the memory of the 'candy bomber'(Lt Halvorsen) who dropped mini parachutes attached to parcels of candy for the children of Berlin. 24pp

Typescript transcript of interview with Mercedes Wild, German schoolgirl, recounting experience of life in Berlin after 1945 and during the airlift 1948-1949, scarcity of food, the black market, electricity shortages, writing to the 'candy bomber' and receiving reply from Lt Gail S Halvorsen, also meeting him in 1971. 17pp

Typescript transcript of translated interview with Kurt Geisler, journalist for Berlin Newspaper during the airlift, [1948-1949] recalling conditions in Berlin during the blockade and how he joined Klaus Appelforn to become the first civilians to leave Berlin after the blockade, traveling by cycle and train to Helmstedt, West Germany, and back. 9pp

Typescript transcript of interview with Hazel Willett, widow of Sgt Frank Dowling RAF, who was killed when his aircraft crashed at Lübeck during the airlift operation 1948, also mentions later visits to Berlin with other widows. 19pp

Typescript transcript of interview with Lothar Zeidler, German interpreter and journalist, describing conditions in Berlin during the blockade and German attitudes to the Soviet forces, involvement in the black market, and surviving crash of Douglas C-47 in East German territory in Jan 1949, whilst en route to study in the USA. 28pp

Typescript transcript of interview with Jean Eastham who worked at the headquarters of British troops, Berlin, describing train journey from West Germany to West Berlin, incidents involving Soviet forces, the Berlin black market and her tasks during the airlift operation, 1948-1949. 36pp

Typescript of transcript of interview with Jessamy Waite, wife of Air Cdre Reginald Newnham Waite, describing his involvement in the planning and management of airlift operations, and life in Berlin during 1948-1949. 30pp

Typescript transcript of interview with John Passanante, US Air Force, describing his service maintaining aircraft based at Rhine-Main, West Germany during the airlift, 1948-1949. Comments on conditions in post-war Germany, the black market, visits to Berlin, flight routines, the 'Easter Parade' maximum effort campaign and US 'patriotic fever'. 26pp

Typescript transcript of interview with Chamber Roberts, [US] journalist, who visited Berlin during the airlift describing post war Berlin and commenting on German-Soviet attitudes, also US attitudes to the USSR [1948-1949]. 21pp

Typescript transcript of interview with Norman Clark, a journalist for the News Chronicle responsible for region of West Germany, describing his visits to Berlin during the airlift operations, and the conditions in the city, incidents with the Soviet forces, the black market in Berlin, and self censorship, 1948-1949. 27pp