Remarks at the Berlin Airlift Remembrance Ceremony in Berlin May 14, 1998
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862 May 13 / Administration of William J. Clinton, 1998 still helping to advance our democracy in the Remarks at the Berlin Airlift twilight of the 20th century. Remembrance Ceremony in Berlin One hundred years ago tomorrow a distin- May 14, 1998 guished American summed up the lessons of the century that was then drawing to a close. Chancellor Kohl, members of the German Carl Schurz served in the Cabinet of a Presi- Government, Mr. Mayor, members of the dent, as a United States Senator, and as a diplomatic corps, the veterans of the general in the Army. He was a close friend LuftbruÈcke, and to the people of Germany: of Abraham Lincoln. He was also a German, Fifty years ago this airstrip was a pivotal bat- one of many who came to the United States tlefield in a war that had not yet been named. after the revolution of 1848. I might say that In 1948 the world could not yet speak of an- as a result of that revolution, the State from other war. which I come has towns named Stuttgart and World War II had left Europe devastated and divided. Nowhere was the crisis more Ulm, where we grow more rice than any acute than here in Berlin. People were hun- other place in the United States. [Laughter] gry and homeless. A hundred years earlier, Carl Schurz lived quite a long life. And as Karl Marx had declared that a specter is he reflected back on it, he was proud to have haunting Europe, the specter of com- stood for democracy on two continents, in munism. In 1948 the specter's shadow fell two nations. He never forgot the friends he across half the continent. The edge of that left in Germany or the two goals that ani- shadow was the runway here at Tempelhof mated the younger generation of 1848: rep- Airport. The last European battlefield of resentative government and German unity. World War II became the first battlefield of In his speech to a gathering of old '48ers the cold war. on May 14, 1898, Carl Schurz swore that he On June 24, 1948, Stalin threw down a would never stop working to spread liberty gauntlet, refusing to allow supplies to be sent around the world. to Berlin. It was war by starvation, with more Mr. President, you have led Germany to- than 2 million lives hanging in the balance. ward these same goals: liberty, representative The blockade stymied the British, the government, and unity. In countless ways, French, the American allies. Some saw no you have worked for unity, reaching out to solution and reluctantly advised evacuation. neighboring countries, building consensus, The fate of free Berlin hung by a thread, laying the ground work for a new and peace- the thread of air support. No one really ful Europe. You have made democracy work thought it was possible to supply a city by at home. air. A few visionaries, however, were con- Mr. President, you recently wrote, ``Even vinced it could be done. They had no prece- a superpower needs friends.'' [Laughter] dent, just the simple rules of conscience and Truer words were never written. [Laughter] ingenuity that determine all our best actions. And so Mr. President, I thank you for the And they had a President. On June 28, in a small meeting at the White House, Harry friendship that unites us personally and for Truman said, ``There is no discussion on that the unbreakable friendship that joins our point. We stay in Berlin, period.'' people. From the moment the largest airlift in his- And ladies and gentlemen, I ask you to tory began, the Western allies became pro- join me in raising a glass to President Roman tectors, instead of occupiers, of Germany. Herzog and to the people of the Federal Re- There are so many stories from that proud public of Germany. period: the leadership of General Clay and General Thomas; the American, British, and NOTE: The President spoke at 10:27 p.m. in the German casualties we must never forget; the Ballroom at the Hotel Adlon. The transcript made countless acts of individual kindness, like available by the Office of the Press Secretary also Gail Halvorsen, the famous Rosinenbomber included the remarks of President Herzog. who dropped tiny parachutes of candy to VerDate 14-MAY-98 11:41 May 20, 1998 Jkt 010199 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 1244 Sfmt 1244 W:\DISC\P20MY4.014 INET01 Administration of William J. Clinton, 1998 / May 14 863 Berlin's children. She is here with us today, racy requires us to stay.'' Well, that was the and I'd like to ask her to stand. Thank you best investment we could have made in Ger- very much. [Applause] Thank you, sir. Thank many's future. It would be difficult to imag- you. He's here. Thank you, sir. ine a better friend or ally than modern Ger- If the Communists could fight with fear, many. then we would fight back with friendship and How proud those who participated in the faith. Today I salute, along with the Chan- airlift must have been when Germany reuni- cellor, all the American veterans who came fied, when Germany led the effort to unify back to celebrate today. I would like to ask Europe, and when the modern equivalent of any of them who are here to please stand. CARE packages were sent to Bosnia, Afghan- [Applause] And I salute the people of Berlin. istan, and other places ravished by war; when Thousands of Berliners from doctors to the people of Germany were among the first housewives rolled up their sleeves to help to send them. It was a good investment in Americans expand this airfield, building democracy to stay. Tegel Airport from scratch, unloading and Now, we must continue to build bridges maintaining the planes. Your fearless mayor, between our two peoples. The Fulbright pro- Ernst Reuter, inspired Americans and Ger- gram between Germany and the United mans alike when he stood before a rally and States is the largest in the world. This fall said, ``We cannot be bordered. We cannot the American Academy in Berlin will open, be negotiated. We cannot be sold.'' bringing our leading cultural figures here. And finally, I salute the 75,000 people We will be working hard to expand our sup- from all around Europe who helped the air- port for the Congress-Bundestag Youth Ex- lift in some capacity and made it a triumph change, which as already given more than for people who love freedom everywhere. 10,000 German and American students the Between June of 1948 and May of 1949, chance to visit each other's countries. The over a quarter million sorties were flown next century of our cooperation for freedom around the clock, day and night, in weather has already begun in our classrooms. Let us good and bad, roughly a plane every 90 sec- give our young people the chance to build onds at its height. But the most precious even stronger bridges for the future. cargo did not come in the well-named CARE In his ``Song of the Spirits Over the Wa- packages. It was instead the hope created by ters,'' Gunther wrote, ``Man's soul is like the the constant roar of the planes overhead. water. From heaven it descends, to heaven Berliners called this noise a symphony of it rises and down again to Earth, it returns, freedom, reminding you that Berlin was not ever repeating.'' To me, these lines express alone and that freedom was no flight of the heroism of the airlift. For more than food imagination. and supplies were dropped from the skies. Today, a new generation must relearn the As the planes came and went and came and lessons of the airlift and bring them to bear went again, the airlift became a sharing of on the challenges of this new era, for the the soul, a story that tells people never to cold war is history, a democratic Russia is give up, never to lose faith, adversity can be our partner, and we have for the first time conquered, prayers can be answered, hopes a chance to build a new Europe, undivided, realized. Freedom is worth standing up for. democratic, and at peace. Yet we know that My friends, today, and 100 years from today's possibilities are not tomorrow's guar- today, the citizens of this great city and all antees. For all the promise of our time, we friends of freedom everywhere will know that are not free from peril. because a few stood up for freedom, now That is why I hope both Americans and and forever. ``Berlin bleibt Berlin noch''Ð Germans will always remember the lesson of ``Berlin is still Berlin.'' what happened here 50 years ago. We cannot Thank you very much. relinquish the responsibilities of leadership, NOTE: The President spoke at approximately 11 for the struggle for freedom never ends. a.m. at the Tempelhof Airport. In his remarks, In the heat of the Berlin crisis, General he referred to Berlin Airlift commanders Gen. Clay wrote, ``I believe the future of democ- Lucius D. Clay, USA (d. 1978), Commander in VerDate 14-MAY-98 11:41 May 20, 1998 Jkt 010199 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 1244 Sfmt 1244 W:\DISC\P20MY4.014 INET01 864 May 14 / Administration of William J. Clinton, 1998 Chief, European Command; and Clay's successor, would have greater advantage probably in the Gen. Thomas T. Handy, USA (d. 1982). The tran- areas where you already have a proven track script made available by the Office of the Press record.