‘We came as adversaries, we stayed as allies, and we leave as friends,’ British prime minister John Major told crowds in Berlin on 8 September 1994, thirty years ago today. The last 200 British, American and French soldiers withdrew from Berlin that day, leaving the city without a foreign military presence for the first time since the Second World War. This was supposed to be the end of history. In reality, a new chapter had already begun.
The presence of the Western Allies in post-war Germany is still remembered fondly today. There are events marking the 30th anniversary of their departure, and many traces of their occupation remain. Take the former airbase RAF Gatow in southwest Berlin, which played a key role in supplying West Berliners with food and resources during the Soviet blockade of Berlin in 1948. It’s now a military museum with aeroplanes from its time as an RAF base.
In the end, even the Soviets appeared as a largely benevolent force to many of their former enemies
British occupation even left a much-loved culinary legacy, the currywurst.
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