Berlin, Germany: Spotlight on Historic Checkpoint Charlie - #Berlin, #ColdWar

In Berlin, I visited Checkpoint Charlie, or Checkpoint C, part of the Berlin Wall that was a crossing point between East and West Berlin during the Cold War. I found this interesting because I remember news reports and had read spy thriller books about East Germans escaping to the West, with Checkpoint Charlie being part of the stories. (John le Carre's The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, James Bond's Octopussy, Len Deighton's Funeral in Berlin, and many others feature Checkpoint Charlie.

The Berlin Wall had its beginnings after the end of World War II when Germany was divided into four zones, each one controlled by one of the four occupying Allied powers: U.S., U.K, France, and the Soviet Union. Soon after, the Soviets and the other occupying powers developed marked differences, which led to the division of Germany into the Eastern and Western blocs, with the Soviets occupying the Eastern bloc. The Berlin Wall was created by East Germany in 1961.
 basically to keep its people from defecting.

Checkpoint Charlie was designated as the single crossing point for foreigners and members of the Allied forces.  It was the site of many dramatic escape ventures from East Germany to West Germany.

On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall was torn down and Germany was eventually reunified.

The group photo shows l-r: Cecilia Brainard, Medy Cruz, Marily Orosa. Nelma Casas was kind enough to take that picture and of me with the two men dressed as American soldiers. I took the other pictures. You can make the pictures larger by clicking on them.

Here are pictures of the Berlin Wall from another location in Berlin:

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Berlin, Germany - Cecilia's Update #1
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Tags: #Berlin, #Germany, #travel, #coldwar, #EastGermany, #WestGermany, #CheckpointCharlie

This is all for now,
Cecilia