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Gordon Curvan ©Stars and StripesWest Germany, June, 1949: On the first anniversary of the start of the Berlin airlift, local residents stand on an autobahn overpass and watch as planes return to a West German airfield for reloading. The relief effort to beat the Soviet blockade reached its peak on Good Friday, April 16, 1949, when 12,940 tons of food, coal, newsprint and other supplies reached Berlin in 24 hours.