1962 JRO-Sonderkarte Multilingual Pictorial City Map of Berlin, Germany

This is a 1962 JRO-Sonderkarte pictorial city map of Berlin, Germany, boldly illustrating the 18-month-old Berlin Wall and the strangling confinement of West Berlin.

A Closer Look

The map depicts East and West Berlin, with the dividing red brick Berlin Wall illustrated pictorially. West Berlin is additionally encircled by barbed wire and other fortifications. Sites throughout are labeled, including Tegel and Tempelhof Airports, which played a critical role in the Berlin Airlift conducted between 1948 and 1949. 21 locations around West Berlin are illustrated in profile and numerically identified, including the Brandenburg Gate, which bisects the Wall. A corresponding index is included along the left border. Keys to the map are included on the right and below in German, English, French, and Spanish. Berlin's coat of arms appears in the upper left, and the whole is surrounded by a black, red, and yellow border: the colors of the German flag.

Verso Content

A map of the Berlin Airlift dominates the verso. Additionally, the verso offers a host of graphically illustrated statistics representing the economics of West Berlin in 1960, before the Wall. There are additional photos of the Brandenburg Gate, Tempelhof Airport, and street scenes.

Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall, a powerful symbol of the Cold War, was erected in 1961, dividing East and West Berlin. Its construction was initiated by the Soviet Union dominated German Democratic Republic (GDR) to prevent East Germans from fleeing to the West. Stretching over 140 kilometers, the Wall included guard towers, concrete walls, and a 'death strip' that made escape attempts perilous. The Wall not only physically separated families and friends but also stood as a stark representation of the ideological divide between the communist East and the capitalist West - a microcosm of the Cold War itself. The Wall became a global symbol of oppression and division until its fall on November 9, 1989, which marked a pivotal moment in the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the eventual reunification of Germany in 1990.

The Berlin Airlift

The Berlin Airlift (June 26, 1948 - September 30, 1949) was an international operation in response to the Berlin Blockade (June 24, 1948 - May 12, 1949). After World War II (1939 - 1945), the Allied Powers divided the occupation of Germany. Berlin was situated deep within Soviet East Germany, but as the former capital, it could not be surrendered fully to Soviet interests. Rather, control of Berlin was divided, with West Berlin remaining democratic and East Berlin managed by the Soviets. In June 1948, the Allies began issuing the new West German Deutsche Mark in West Berlin. Fearing the free currency would disrupt efforts to implement Russian Communism in East Germany, Soviet forces blocked all access to West Berlin, constructing the infamous Berlin Wall and otherwise barricading the free portions of the city, essentially strangling it under a passive siege. The Soviets hoped to force the withdrawal of Western powers from Berlin. In response, American, British, French, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, and South African aircrews flew over 200,000 sorties to supply West Berliners. During the 15 months of the operation, 2,334,374 tons of supplies were delivered, over two-thirds of which was coal. At its height, an aircraft was landing in West Berlin every thirty seconds. The Berlin Airlift ended on May 12, 1949, when the Soviet Union lifted its blockade of West Berlin's road, rail, and canal routes.

The Cold War

The Cold War was a geopolitical conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union, and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and Eastern Bloc, which began following World War II. The Cold War is generally considered to have begun with the 1947 Truman Doctrine and ended with the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union. During the conflict, both the United States and the Soviet Union developed powerful nuclear arsenals. While there was always a threat of nuclear war, the apocalyptic cost of such an exchange kept both sides from engaging in direct warfare. Instead, with no large-scale engagement, the Cold War was fought through various proxy wars, espionage, propaganda campaigns, embargos, and psychological warfare. Each superpower supported major regional conflicts centered around an ideological and geopolitical struggle for global influence.

Publication History

This map was produced by JRO-Sonderkarte in 1962.