COLD WAR I: Berlin Crisis

Glossary

B-29s - U.S. aircraft known as "atomic bombers" because they are capable of carrying atomic bombs

Candy Bomber - nickname given to American Lieutenant Gail S. Halvorsen who parachuted candies to the children of Berlin

Clay, General Lucius D. - American designer and manager of the Berlin Airlift, along with Britain's General Sir Brian Robertson

capitalism - an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market

communism - a theoretical economic system characterized by the collective ownership of property and by the organization of labor for the common advantage of all members of society

Communism - a system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy, and a single, often authoritarian party holds power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are shared equally by the people

democracy - government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives

dictatorship - government by a ruler having absolute governmental authority, especially one considered tyrannical or oppressive

Gatow - airport used during the Berlin Airlift, located in the British zone

Iron Curtain - the barbed wire and mined border erected to separate Western Europe from Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union

Marshall Plan - Allied strategy to prevent starvation and economic crisis in war-ravaged Europe by helping rebuild the most devastated areas as quickly as possible. This policy was named in honor of George C. Marshall, then Secretary of State, who first called for Allied participation in the restoration of Europe. Its success earned Marshall a Nobel Peace Prize.

nationalization - conversion from private to governmental ownership and control

Operation Vittles - the American nickname for the Berlin Airlift. The British called it Operation Plain Fare.

Pom - nickname for the British dried potato product airlifted to Berlin during the Berlin Crisis in order to reduce the weight of providing potatoes

socialism - a system or theory of social organization in which the producers possess both political power and the means of production and distribution

sovereignty - supremacy of authority or rule, complete independence and self-government

Tegel - one of the airports involved in the Berlin Airlift, located in the French zone

Tempelhof - the airport, located in the American zone, where a new runway was voluntarily built by Berliners during the Berlin Airlift

totalitarianism - a state system based on monolithic unity and authoritarianism

Truman Doctrine - a promised policy issued by President Harry Truman in 1947 in response to growing frequency of communist revolutions. The policy stated the intention of the United States to give aid to any government that was fighting Communism.

Tunner, Major General William - Commander in Chief of the Combined Airlift Task Force who was able to systematize the airlift into a record-setting achievement