Explore the epic story of the Berlin Airlift in "Wings of Freedom."Explore the epic story of the Berlin Airlift in "Wings of Freedom."
J Hirtle The Last Storyteller
Jim Hirtle talks with author Bibi Leblanc about her book Wings of Freedom and the human stories behind the Berlin Airlift. Their conversation centres on courage, unity and preserving forgotten history for future generations.
42:17•22 Jul 2026
Wings of Freedom: Bibi Leblanc on Courage, Unity and the Berlin Airlift
Episode Overview
- Bibi grew up in West Berlin yet never learned about the Berlin Airlift in school, which later drove her to research and write Wings of Freedom.
- The Soviet Union blocked all land and water access to West Berlin, forcing the Western Allies to keep the city alive entirely by air.
- Runways were built from steel plates and city rubble, with crews of women constantly patching cracks so supply flights could continue.
- Wings of Freedom began as a bilingual colouring book pairing historical text with images, later expanded into a fully coloured edition sold through museums and organisations.
- Bibi’s ongoing Voices of the Berlin Airlift project collects personal memories from veterans and former children of Berlin, aiming to preserve stories and reintroduce this history into schools.
“"Look at what we can accomplish when we work together, you know, put our heads together."”
What can we learn from those who have battled addiction, faith, history and then turned those experiences into powerful stories? Here, poet and storyteller Jim Hirtle sits down with author and skydiver Bibi Leblanc to talk about her award‑winning book, *Wings of Freedom: A Tribute to the Berlin Airlift*. You'll hear how Bibi, who grew up in West Berlin within sight of the wall, reached adulthood without ever being taught about the airlift.
She explains how a chance visit to a historic aircraft in Florida and a tour of Berlin’s old airport pushed her into a full‑on research marathon. As she puts it, she "didn't come up for air for weeks and months" while piecing the story together. The episode paints a vivid picture of post‑war Berlin: a devastated city, a Soviet blockade, and a massive operation to feed and heat two and a half million people using only aircraft.
Bibi shares striking details, like women racing onto muddy runways to patch cracks between landings, and rubble from bombed‑out buildings being turned into the base of new airstrips. Jim steers the chat towards courage, trust and unity. Bibi stresses how remarkable it was that, just three years after the war, "the people that were trying to kill each other" were suddenly working side by side to keep Berlin alive.
That same drive now fuels her new project, *Voices of the Berlin Airlift*, collecting memories from veterans and civilians before those voices fade. For anyone in recovery or rebuilding from their own "after the war" period, this conversation offers a different kind of encouragement: proof that shattered places and people can pull together and rebuild.
If a ruined city could find hope in the roar of supply planes overhead, what kind of hope might you be ready to write into your next chapter?
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