A loudspeaker spluttered briefly with a routine announcement that echoed across the high-vaulted departure lounge. Then Tempelhof, Hitler’s favourite airport, fell silent. It was the last call for one of Germany’s cultural icons.

Outside, there were no oompah bands and no grand parades, only a DC3 “candy bomber” revving its engines for the final take-off from the otherwise deserted runway.

The choice of aircraft was a tribute to the US and British pilots who ferried two million tons of supplies to a blockaded West Berlin during the hottest moments of the Cold War.

“This airport has become a symbol for those who suffer from political repression and natural catastrophes,” said Gail Halvorsen, 87, who flew his aircraft across Soviet-controlled terrain, evading Russian fighters, into West Berlin for the whole 11 months of the Airlift in 1948-49. Although the MiG-dodgers transported coal for the power stations and fresh food, the aircraft were known as candy bombers, or chocolate bombers, because they dropped sweets on miniature parachutes to German children.

That immense logistical effort explains why the closing of Tempelhof airport has stirred such powerful emotions. In a referendum half a million Berliners voted against the closure; some, clutching candles, were outside the terminal building yesterday chanting their disapproval.

Tempelhof, which the British architect Lord Foster of Thames Bank called “the mother of all airports”, was at the hub of the remarkable operation. Now, though, it has become a liability for the cash-strapped city. The mayor, Klaus Wowereit, insists that Berlin, a city of 3.5 million people, needs only one major airport, not three. Tegel airport is also to close.

“It’s the end of an important chapter of our history,” Mr Wowereit said, “but one that opens up new chances.” The city government, however, has yet to come up with a convincing plan for the vast complex in the middle of the capital. One idea is to convert the runways into Europe’s premier skate-boarding centre; another is to build Europe’s largest environmental community there, complete with farms. Despite the superlatives, none of the plans has convinced Berliners.

“It is truly sad that this is being done,” said Lea Rosh, a cultural activist who was a leading spirit behind the building of the Holocaust memorial in the city. “And I think it is a mistake.”

Her support for preserving Tempelhof has been important. Some critics argued that Berliners should not be campaigning to save what is the largest architectural relic of the Third Reich. But no one could suspect Ms Rosh of sinister motives.

Hitler wanted Tempelhof – the world’s first truly modern airport – to be a showpiece of Nazi power. The front of the terminal is a concave curve 900m (more than half a mile) long looking out on to the aerodrome. It is still the second largest freestanding building in the world after the Pentagon and was plainly designed with the intention of hanging giant swastikas from its towers.

The aim was to hold rallies of up to 80,000 people on the long, flat roof: the Führer could fly in, make his speech to the faithful, then fly away again. The architect was Ernst Sagebiel, who also designed Hermann Goering’s Air Ministry with a roof long enough to land an aircraft.

“It was supposed to be the gateway to Europe,” said Professor Manfred Goertemacher, of Potsdam University. “Hitler wanted people to be impressed when they arrived in Berlin.”

The idea was to transport six million people a year; its restaurants were intended to cater for 3,000 passengers at a time. When the war turned against the Nazis the construction work, begun in 1937, was halted.

Despite its chequered history, Tempelhof had charm. After the US forces withdrew from West Berlin in the 1990s, it was used mainly for short-haul flights and executive jets. It remained frozen in time, the one major airport, in Western Europe at least, without fast food outlets or shopping malls. It was used as a backdrop for films and flying from there made passengers feel akin in spirit to the trench-coated Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca.

He, too, said farewell at an airport.

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