Tegel Airport – "Built with our Bare Hands" - Wolfgang Quurke

Wolfgang and Helga Quurke reflect on postwar Berlin and the Berlin Airlift. Through memories of hunger, solidarity, and helping build Tegel Airport by hand, they share how cooperation and resilience helped a city survive.

Tegel Airport – "Built with our Bare Hands" - Wolfgang Quurke

About the Author

Bibi LeBlanc is the creator and editor of Voices of the Berlin Airlift, an oral-history project dedicated to preserving personal memories of the 1948–49 Berlin Airlift. She is also the author of Wings of Freedom and numerous other award-winning books. Having grown up in West Berlin during the Cold War, Bibi brings both lived experience and careful historical research to her work.

Through interviews and firsthand accounts from airlift children, veterans, families, and eyewitnesses, she documents the human side behind one of the defining moments of the early Cold War, ensuring these voices are preserved for future generations.

Contact us today!

(+1) 386.228.5147

Wings of Freedom, Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations are tax deductible as allowed by law.

Wings of Freedom © 2026. All Rights Reserved