KEY POINTS:
Germany overnight was to mark the 60th anniversary of the start of the Berlin Airlift, which involved New Zealand pilots.
The undertaking supplied West Berliners with food and fuel, likely saved the city from falling to the Soviets and helped mend the wounds of World War II.
Often called the first battle of the Cold War, the airlift pitted the United States and the Soviets against one another for the first time and set the tone for the decades to come.
