Rhetorical Analysis Of The Berlin Airlift

In the late 1940’s Berlin became the dividing line between Communism and Capitalism. This beleaguered city was to be the front line of the Cold War. In 1948 The city, divided into four sectors, one of which was occupied by the Soviet Union, was engaged in a life or death struggle for survival. The Berlin Airlift was not simply a struggle for the life of one city. The city was a prize in the game of chess between the west and the Soviet Union. The media of the day utilized rhetoric and to influence the emotions and allegiances of the people who read them, focusing more on the threat of Communism than on the plight of Germans themselves. In 1948 Berliners were caught between starvation on one side, and Communism on the other. Westerners feared, that in their suffering, the people of Berlin would turn to the Soviet Union, for help. This

“It also describes the blockade as the “Starvation Siege”, a great example of pathos.5

However, what is most interesting about this cartoon is it’s use of logos, of logic. Germany the recently defeated enemy of Britain and America may have engendered feeling of animosity in former Allied nations. There may not have been much sympathy for their hunger. But what the former Allies all shared was fear of Communism. It was far more effective to utilize those fears of Communism to gain support than to simply say that it is wrong to let Germans starve. This cartoon very succinctly makes an argument for the airlift. The following article turns to to the actual event of the Airlift. The German produced Suddendeutsche Zeitung article dated Sept 25th, 1948, discusses the first 100 days of the airlift and gives the reader insight into the German view of the issue when it