Pressemitteilung Berlin, den 8. Juli 2014
Tempelhof Central Airport. The American Story
Special Exhibition at the Allied Museum, July 9, 2014 to April 19, 2015
The new special exhibition at the Allied Museum, Tempelhof Central Airport. The American Story, will for the first time present the American era at the former Berlin central airport. The exhibition spans the entire era of the American presence at Tempelhof, from the turn-over of the airport to the Americans in July 1945, by the Soviet troops who had conquered it, to its transfer to the Berlin Airport Company in 1993. As the exhibition clearly shows, Tempelhof Airport is a significant place of remembrance of the Cold War.
The focus is on the dual function of the airport: For nearly fifty years, Tempelhof was both an American air base and a commercial airport. The “home of the Airlift” was used by the Western powers as a reconnaissance outpost and as a protective shield during the Cold War. The military mission of the U.S. Air Force was to guarantee air traffic to and from West Berlin both logistically and technically, and with all necessary protective, monitoring and maintenance measures. The exhibition shows how the Allies controlled aviation security, and how Tempelhof Airport was used to carry out espionage and electronic reconnaissance flights.
Another exhibition space is dedicated to the Berlin Airlift at the time of the Soviet blockade of 1948/49. Every few minutes, an airplane loaded with vital supplies for Berlin’s population landed at Tempelhof. Less well known is the fact that the airport was the “Gateway to Freedom” for many refugees from East Germany; from here, they were flown to their new homes in West Germany. And there were spectacular landings in Tempelhof, too, such as that of a hijacked Polish passenger plane in 1978. To try that case, the U.S. Court for Berlin was convened for the first and last time in post-war Berlin.
Other segments of the exhibition show that Tempelhof Airport also had a certain glamour factor: The Allied airlines, especially Pan Am, lent it an international aura. The red carpet was regularly rolled out for celebrities and politicians, including three U.S. presidents. But Tempelhof was also a place of encounter between Americans and West Berliners. Numerous German civilian employees worked at the U.S. Air Force base, which was also the home of Berlin’s German-American youth club. The Open House day at the military part of the airfield attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. But there were political protests, too, such as those against the Vietnam War, or against the arrival of unpopular politicians.
The exhibition also sheds light on the history of Tempelhof Airport during World War II: The Nazi armaments industry had more than 3000 forced laborers working on the site. Since 2012, archeologists have conducted excavations in various parts of the Tempelhof field. A selection of the finds from various periods is now to be shown for the first time at the Allied Museum. Numerous original exhibits, such as the rotating beacon from the roof of the airport, Pan Am and the U.S. Air Force uniforms, and a “one-armed bandit” from the Tempelhof Officers’ Club, as well as
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Pressemitteilung Berlin, den 8. Juli 2014 replicas of the tower and of a gangway, bring the unique atmosphere of the former city airport back to life. Film strips show scenes from the Berlin Airlift, photographs of Tempelhof field, and interviews with witnesses to its history.
The exhibition Tempelhof Central Airport. The American Story is open from July 9, 2014 to April 19, 2015, daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., except Mondays, at the Allied Museum, Clayallee 135, 14195 Berlin. A richly illustrated 160-page book in German, English and French accompanies the exhibition (Price: 14,90 €).
A highlight of the Exhibition Program is provided by the guided tours of the Allied Museum depot at Tempelhof Airport, conducted in collaboration with Berlin Compact. They are to be held on Sundays and Wednesdays from July 27 to September 7, from 1 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. There are also regular guided tours of the exhibition, as well as films and lecture evenings. The first guided tour with the curators is planned for Sunday, July 13, 2014. Please register by July 11 under [email protected]. More dates will be announced on the website of the Allied Museum and via email.
Free Picture material can be downloaded from www.alliiertenmuseum.de/press.
For questions, please contact Cecilia Reible, cell phone: 0170-903 31 98, or [email protected]
AlliiertenMuseum, Clayallee 135 – Outpost, 14195 Berlin
Telefon +49 / (0)30 / 81 81 99 -0 Fax +49 / (0)30 / 81 81 99 -91 E-Mail [email protected] www.alliiertenmuseum.de www.facebook.com/alliiertenmuseum