Berlin Airlift Memorial 1998  

Luminaries and chocolates installed in the basement corridor of the former German army base, Engstingen, Germany On the 50th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift, this son of an American WWII G.I. found himself sleeping in a former German army barracks as an invited guest. This piece was intended to develop a conversation about how people from once-enemy countries began to break down the walls of enmity by working together and dying together for a common cause.

Thirty-one luminaries, one for each American who died in the Airlift, were aligned on either side of a darkened hallway. Each luminary reflected the image of one of the aircraft used in the airlift, and the light thrown by the luminaries represented landing lights on a runway.

At the end of the corridor, a table contained information about the Berlin Airlift, as well as chocolates bound in a small parachute, representative of the more than 20 tons of candy dropped by American pilots during the 15 months of the Airlift.

Back