In the fall of 1946, Berlin, then under Four Power occupation, was due for citywide elections. Cold War tensions had started to emerge by then, between the Soviets and the Western powers. The city elections became a de facto referendum on whose postwar visions and governing philosophies the people of Berlin preferred---the communist East or the capitalist West. The election, and the campaigning that led up to it, became one of the first "battles" of the Cold War. 

Steinstuecken: A Little Pocket of Freedom tells the story of a West Berlin neighborhood that was part of the American Occupation Sector---but was completely surrounded by Communist territory. The Americans had no ground access to the neighborhood; they could only fly to it by helicopter. Yet the Americans kept the neighborhood safe, and out of Communist hands, for more than 20 years. While researching the Steinstuecken book, Don learned about the 1946 Berlin City elections.