Checkpoint Charlie

By the early 1950s, the Soviet method of restricting emigration was emulated by most of the rest of the Eastern Bloc, including East Germany.[1] However, in occupied Germany, until 1952, the lines between East Germany and the western occupied zones remained easily crossed in most places.[2] Subsequently, the inner German border between the two German states was closed and a barbed-wire fence erected.

Even after closing of the inner German border officially in 1952,[3] the city sector border in between East Berlin and West Berlin remained considerably more accessible than the rest of the border because it was administered by all four occupying powers.[2] Accordingly, Berlin became the main route by which East Germans left for the West.[4] Hence the Berlin sector border was essentially a "loophole" through which Eastern Bloc citizens could still escape.[3]

The 3.5 million East Germans who had left by 1961 totaled approximately 20% of the entire East German population.[5] The emigrants tended to be young and well educated.[6] The loss was disproportionately great among professionals — engineers, technicians, physicians, teachers, lawyers and skilled workers.[5]

The brain drain of professionals had become so damaging to the political credibility and economic viability of East Germany that the re-securing of the Soviet imperial frontier was imperative.[7] Between 1949 and 1961, over 2½ million East Germans fled to the West.[8] The numbers increased during the three years before the Berlin Wall was erected,[8] with 144,000 in 1959, 199,000 in 1960 and 207,000 in the first seven months of 1961 alone.[8][9] The East German economy suffered accordingly.[9]

On 13 August 1961, a barbed-wire barrier that would become the Berlin Wall separating East and West Berlin was erected by the East Germans.[7] Two days later, police and army engineers began to construct a more permanent concrete wall.[10] Along with the wall, the 830 mile zonal border became 3.5 miles wide on its East German side in some parts of Germany with a tall steel-mesh fence running along a "death strip" bordered by mines, as well as channels of ploughed earth, to slow escapees and more easily reveal their footprints.[11]

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  East German guards checking permits of bus passengers going through the checkpoint in October, just after the Wall was built on 13 August 1961
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  Czech hedgehogs just inside East Berlin
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  Checks by East German guards
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  US president John F Kennedy at Checkpoint Charlie in 1963
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  The Western (foreground) and Eastern (background) checkpoints, with the latter's famous watchtower, which was demolished in 2000

US M48 Patton tanks facing Soviet T-55 tanks at Checkpoint Charlie in October 1961.

Soon after the construction of the Berlin Wall in August 1961, a stand-off occurred between US and Soviet tanks on either side of Checkpoint Charlie. It began on 22 October as a dispute over whether East German border guards were authorized to examine the travel documents of a US diplomat based in West Berlin named Allan Lightner heading to East Berlin to watch an opera show there, since according to the agreement between all four Allied powers occupying Germany, there was to be free movement for Allied forces in Berlin and that no German military forces from either West Germany or East Germany were to be based in the city, and moreover the USA did not (initially) recognise the East German state and its right to remain in its self-declared capital of East Berlin. Instead, the Americans only recognised the authority of the Soviets over East Berlin rather than their East German allies. By 27 October, ten Soviet and an equal number of American tanks stood 100 yards apart on either side of the checkpoint. This stand-off ended peacefully on 28 October following a US-Soviet understanding to withdraw tanks and reduce tensions. Discussions between US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and KGB spy Georgi Bolshakov played a vital role in realizing this tacit agreement.[13]

The Berlin Wall was erected with great speed by the East German government in 1961, but there were many means of escape that had not been anticipated. For example, Checkpoint Charlie was initially blocked only by a gate, and a citizen of the DDR (East Germany) smashed a car through it to escape, so a strong pole was erected. Another escapee approached the barrier in a convertible, the windscreen removed prior to the event, and slipped under the barrier. This was repeated two weeks later, so the East Germans duly lowered the barrier and added uprights.[14]

On 17 August 1962, a teenaged East German, Peter Fechter, was shot in the pelvis by East German guards while trying to escape from East Berlin. His body lay tangled in a barbed wire fence as he bled to death in full view of the world's media. American soldiers could not rescue him because he was a few metres inside the Soviet sector. East German border guards were reluctant to approach him for fear of provoking Western soldiers, one of whom had shot an East German border guard just days earlier. More than an hour later, Fechter's body was removed by the East German guards. A spontaneous demonstration formed on the American side of the checkpoint, protesting against the action of the East and the inaction of the West.

A few days later, a crowd threw stones at Soviet buses driving towards the Soviet War Memorial, located in the Tiergarten in the British sector; the Soviets tried to escort the buses with armoured personnel carriers (APCs). Thereafter, the Soviets were only allowed to cross via the Sandkrug Bridge crossing (which was the nearest to Tiergarten) and were prohibited from bringing APCs. Western units were deployed in the middle of the night in early September with live armaments and vehicles, in order to enforce the ban.

Since 2012 the exhibition “BlackBox Cold War” illuminates the division of Germany and Berlin. The free open-air exhibit offers original Berlin Wall segments and informations about the historic sight. However the indoor exhibit illustrates Berlin's contemporary history with 16 media stations, a movie theater as well as original objects and documents (liable to pay costs). It is run by the NGO Berliner Forum fuer Geschichte und Gegenwart e.V..[18]

Checkpoint Charlie Museum

Near the location of the guard house is the Haus am Checkpoint Charlie. The "Mauermuseum - Museum Haus am Checkpoint Charlie" was opened on 14 June 1963, in the immediate vicinity of the Berlin Wall. It shows photographs and fragments of the separation of Germany. The border fortifications and the "assistance of the protecting powers" are illustrated. In addition to photos and documentation of successful escape attempts, the exhibition also showcases escape devices including a hot-air balloon, escape cars, chair lifts, and a mini-submarine.

From October 2004 until July 2005, the Freedom Memorial, consisting of original wall segments and 1,067 commemorative crosses, stood on a leased site.[19]

The museum is operated by the Arbeitsgemeinschaft 13. August e. V., a registered association founded by Dr. Rainer Hildebrandt. The director is Alexandra Hildebrandt, the founder's widow. The museum is housed in part in the "House at Checkpoint Charlie" building by architect Peter Eisenman.

With 850,000 visitors in 2007, the Wall Museum is one of the most visited museums in Berlin and in Germany.[20]