Lucius Dubignon Clay was a senior officer of the United States Army who was known for his administration of occupied Germany after World War II. He served as the deputy to General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1945; deputy military governor, Germany, in 1946; Commander in Chief, United States Forces in Europe and military governor of the United States Zone, Germany, from 1947 to 1949. Clay orchestrated the Berlin Airlift (1948–1949) when the USSR blockaded West Berlin.
Lucius D. Clay
Clay on the cover of Time (July 12, 1948)
Lucius D. Clay Kaserne
Clay with General of the Army Eisenhower at Gatow Airport in Berlin during the Potsdam Conference in 1945
The Berlin Blockade was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under Western control. The Soviets offered to drop the blockade if the Western Allies withdrew the newly introduced Deutsche Mark from West Berlin.
West Berliners watch a Douglas C-54 Skymaster land at Tempelhof Airport, 1948
C-47 Skytrains unloading at Tempelhof Airport during the Berlin Airlift
Loading milk on a West Berlin-bound aircraft
Germans watching supply planes at Tempelhof