FR

IT

MT

NL

PL

PT

ES

DE

 

Pictures and postcards in relation to the Berlin Wall

Famous sign from the Berlin Wall at the famous American border crossing "Checkpoint Charlie" - January 1981

The Berlin Wall was erected on August 13, 1961 by the East German government to prevent people from fleeing from the East to West Berlin and the rest of West Germany.
The wall was approximately 155 km long and consisted of a combination of concrete, barbed wire and electric fences.
It was erected as an "anti-fascist protective wall" (Antifascistic Schutzwall), but its primary purpose was to stop mass migration from East to West.
 

Postcard Berlin, Sebastianstraße, Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall became a symbol of the political and ideological divide between East and West, and its existence had a profound impact on many people's lives. The wall came down on November 9, 1989, marking the beginning of the reunification of East and West Germany and one of the most important events in the end of the Cold War. It is estimated that around 14,000 soldiers from the East German Border Police (Grenztruppen der DDR) were responsible for guarding the Berlin Wall. In addition, more than 3,000 guard dogs and over a million landmines were used along the border. The wall was also equipped with 302 watchtowers from which the soldiers could monitor the border. It is estimated that at least 140 people were killed at the Berlin Wall.

Checkpoint Charlie Checkpoint Charlie  

The Berlin Wall at Potsdamer Platz - On the far left in the middle of the lower picture, a green tuft is seen. It was the covered and overgrown "Führerbunker" - Winter 1981

Potsdamer Platz was one of the most iconic and dramatic places in Berlin during the time of the Berlin Wall. Before the wall was built, Potsdamer Platz was a busy traffic hub and a cultural center in Berlin. But with the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 the area was turned into a deserted border zone.

The Berlin Wall divided Potsdamer Platz in two, with East Berlin on one side and West Berlin on the other. This made the square a "no man's land" with a large, empty area on the West Berlin side and a heavily guarded border on the East Berlin side.

After the fall of the wall in 1989, Potsdamer Platz quickly became a symbol of the reunification of Berlin and at one point it was reported that 80% of all Europe's largest cranes were working at Potsdammer Platz.

The border crossing at Potsdamer Platz - 19xx

The border crossing at Potsdamer Platz was located in the British sector and was not open to ordinary citizens. It was primarily used by Allied military personnel and diplomats from West Berlin. The border crossing was one of the many checkpoints set up along the Berlin Wall to regulate movement between East and West Berlin. The best-known border crossing was Checkpoint Charlie, which was located a little further east.

Berlinmuren Billede 1 

East Berlin - The newspaper "Neue Zeit, Union Verlag (vob)", with the Berlin Wall by Zimmerstraße/Friedrichstraße in the foreground

The first picture is a postcard from the 60s and the next a photo from the spring of 1981

25 Years of the Anti-Fascist Protection Wall - Postage Stamp 1986

Checkpoint Charlie

Postcard Checkpoint Charlie 1961

Checkpoint Charlie Checkpoint Charlie

Postkort Checkpoint Charlie 1970

Checkpoint Charlie

Postcard Checkpoint Charlie from 1980

Checkpoint Charlie

The famous Cafe Adler near Checkpoint Charlie

Cafe Adler at Checkpoint at Charlie Charlie was known as a popular meeting place for spies and intelligence agents during the Cold War. Its location close to one of the best-known border crossings between Eastern and West Berlin made it an ideal place for discreet meetings and exchange of information while being able to monitor who who crossed the border. "The eagle has now unfortunately left the border crossing" in favor of just another Starbucks. But when you think about which circus Checkpoint Charlie has now been transformed into, then they match each other very well, I think. The French journalist Pascale Hugues describes it very well in this fine article.


Café Adler leaves the American sector!

By Pascale Hugues In German Tagesspiel 29.03.2008

There are places that do not do justice to their history. Just like Place du Tertre in Paris and Carnaby Street in London, Checkpoint Charly is one such place. Only in Café Adler can you still feel the feeling of the Cold War. Certain places in the big cities of old Europe make you lose any desire to open a history book once again in your life. A walk among the amateur watercolor painters in Paris is particularly effective. When you see them on Place du Tertre in Montmartre, with their easels, palettes and berets, you can only detest Toulouse-Lautrec and the entire 19th century. And you only have to spend an afternoon among the Afghan fur coats and incense sticks in Carnaby Street to kill forever the nostalgia for flower power and the 60s that is slumbering somewhere. Checkpoint Charlie turns the division of Germany, this great chapter of Berlin's history that is still so present to the city's residents, into a ridiculous bazaar. The Cold War is for sale on the pavement: its Vopo caps, its watches with a picture of Lenin, its "Helpers of the People's Police" armbands, its Russian pilot's caps, its hammers and anvils... "Sometimes even real," admits the saleswoman at a stand. For the young people from Wuppertal on a school trip, this is a bit of prehistory. Such a distant time. Florian, with his acne-ridden cheeks, waves the red flag. Lukas, wearing a fur hat with ear flaps and a bottle of Coke in his hand, marches in goose step. Laura has put a Vopo cap on her red hair. And you would like to hug her history teacher, he looks so sad and exhausted. Annoyed Japanese strike a pose in front of the sealed and barely recognizable section of the wall. Smile! Click. Clack. Done! A double-decker bus drives past. It slows down briefly. Behind the darkened windows and the small curtains of their South Sea blue exclusive coach, Swabian pensioners stare at the ruins of the Wall. Four minutes of panoramic views of 28 years of German history, and the bus turns into Unter den Linden, another century, another chapter. Goodbye Honecker, hello Frederick II of Prussia. Checkpoint Charlie is a bottleneck. It smells of pizza and old fat. Horns. Bicycle taxis. Crowds. I haven't been in this corner of Berlin for years. Even though I used to come here regularly when the Wall started to crumble. One morning, on an appointment, I happen to find myself in front of the mythical sign: "YOU ARE LEAVING THE AMERICAN SECTOR". But I don't recognize anything anymore. I have to close my eyes to remember the time when Checkpoint Charlie was a silent bubble. The pungent smell of Trabis, delegations of comrades from the French Communist Party with their indestructible faith - at Checkpoint Charlie you were transported into another world. "Capitalism knows no mercy. We are no longer of this world," says the Turkish waiter in Café Adler. Checkpoint Charlie, once the dead end of West Berlin, has now become an important object of real estate speculation. Café Adler will soon close. The waiter watches the everyday circus through the high windows of his restaurant. His kohlrabi soup and tomato consommé don't stand a chance against the triumph of gastronomic globalization, against Chinese stir-fry, Asian sushi, chips and cookies, chicken wings. Café Adler is the only relic of times gone by. This is where foreign journalists met with their informants, the GDR dissidents who had fled to the West, the journalists from "TAZ". This is where addresses and contacts were exchanged. This is where you drank your first glass of champagne with the stunned East Germans who had just crossed the Wall on the night of November 9th. Café Adler is a true Cold War site, a museum, 1000 times more authentic than all the kitschy junk on the sidewalk opposite. The marble tables, the upholstered benches covered in faded green velvet, the tile mosaic on the floor, the large mirrors on the walls - they all tell much more about history than the matryoshkas and the fake fragments of the Wall. And when Café Adler is no longer there, a few minutes at Checkpoint Charlie will be enough to make you want to flee from the memories of the Cold War.  

Checkpoint Charlie

Postcard Checkpoint Charlie 27th october 1961

American and Soviet tanks facing each other at Checkpoint Charlie on October 27, 1961. The confrontation between the American and Soviet tanks lasted for almost 16 hours and brought the world close to direct military conflict during the Cold War. Both parties had orders to shoot if the other party opened fire. The heated situation at Checkpoint Charlie in 1961 was part of the Berlin Crisis, which was one of the most dangerous periods of the Cold War.

Checkpoint Charlie

Postcard Checkpoint Charlie 27th october 1961

The reason for the conflict was East Germany, with the support of the Soviet Union, began building the Berlin Wall on August 13, 1961 to prevent people from flee from East to West Berlin. This created intense tension between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union. In October 1961, the situation escalated when American and Soviet tanks faced each other at Checkpoint Charlie. This situation arose because American troops tried to pass through Checkpoint Charlie to get access to East Berlin, but was stopped by Soviet soldiers. This led to an intense tightening between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union. After the confrontation at Checkpoint Charlie, the American troops could no longer cross the border freely. It was subsequently under strict conditions and only with the necessary permits.

Kennedy in Berlin

John F. Kennedy, Villy Brandt, Konrad Adenauer at the Brandenburger Tor - Westberlin 1963

Checkpoint Charlie Checkpoint Charlie

Postcard Checkpoint Charlie 1961 and 1963

Checkpoint Charlie

Postcard Checkpoint Charlie 1966

Berlin Coat of Arms

Berlin's armory approx. year 1700 and shortcut to "Interesting places in Berlin"

Brandenburger Tor

Postcard at The Brandenburger Tor near The Berlin Wall and The Tiergarten - 19xx

 

Berlin Wall near The Brandenburger Tor seen from Westberlin - April 1981

Checkpoint Charlie

The cordoned off area at the Brandenburg Gate and the Soviet War Memorial - 1981

When I came to Berlin in the 80s, the area around the Soviet war memorial in the Tiergarten at the Brandenburg Gate was cordoned off. It was because, I was told, the authorities were afraid of riots at the monument. Not only were they worried about the Russian soldiers who were standing guard, they were also worried about the American soldiers who were there to protect the Soviet military cadets who were on guard. They were afraid that they would be harassed and since you also did not want to e.g. demonstrators had to harass the German police, who were present to ensure that no one harassed the American soldiers, the entire area was cordoned off, so only e.g. selected vehicles could enter.

Bernauerstr.

Checkpoint Charlie

Postcard Bernauer Strasse after 13th august 1961 - Wedding French sector i Westberlin

The French Sector of Berlin was located in the northwestern part of the city, which was administered by France after World War II, when France was one of the four powers that divided Berlin, along with Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union, as decided at Yalta and Potsdam - the conferences in 1945. The French sector included areas such as Charlottenburg and Tiergarten worked closely with the other Western Allies to ensure stability and security in the city during the Cold War.

Checkpoint Charlie

Bernauer Strasse and Reconciliation Church

Postcard from the 1960s of Bernauer Strasse and Reconciliation Church. The church was blown up in 1985 at the behest of the GDR government, as it was in the so-called "death zone" between the two walled sides.

Bernauer Strasse

Greetings from Bernauer Strasse!

A somewhat different and more tourist-friendly Bernauer Strasse - 20th anniversary 2014

Conrad Schumann - the young man on the picture - was a 19-year-old border guard from the GDR who on 15 August 1961 jumped over the spiked metal fences on Bernauer Strasse and crossed over to West Berlin. He was photographed in the midst of his escape by photographer Peter Leibing, and this image became an iconic symbol of resistance to the Berlin Wall. Schumann's escape was one of the first and most famous escapes from East Berlin, and it provided a powerful symbol of how badly the wall had affected people. After his escape, Schumann moved to West Germany, where he spent the rest of his life until he allegedly committed suicide on June 20, 1998. He hanged himself in his orchard near the town of Kipfenberg in Upper Bavaria. He reportedly struggled with guilt and depression after his escape. He felt that he had failed his family and friends in East Germany, and these feelings contributed to his tragic decision to take his own life.

Chausseestr./ Boyenstr. i Wedding, The French sector i Westberlin

A border control on the outskirts of West Berlin - Glienicker Brücke - The road leads over the bridge to Potsdam

The East Germans called the bridge "Brücke der Einheit" - the Bridge of Unity - but instead of uniting, it separated the two very different worlds.

Berlin indelt i sektorer

The map shows the divided Berlin in the four sectors, where the red line separates West Berlin from East.

 

Brandenburger Tor

The fall of the Berlin Wall

The fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989 marked one of the most significant events of the 20th century. The wall fell as a result of a series of revolutions in East Germany, Czechoslovakia and others Eastern Bloc countries, which pushed for more political freedom and less oppression. On 9 November 1989, it was announced that citizens could cross the border freely. This led to thousands of East Germans flocking to the wall and began to tear it down. "The Wall" was practically shut down during the night, and this was the beginning on the reunification of East and West Germany, which took place on 3 October 1990.

Berlinmurens fald

And Honecker didn't get that right either.

Berlinmurens fald

"The breakthrough"

 

Berlin is always worth a visit - summer or winter - but where to go? Here are some slightly unusual and very different suggestions for places I like to go.

               

Interesting places

A B C

"Beelitz-Heilstätten" - Old military hospital

Bendlerblock" - Memorial and museum

"Berlin Untervelten" - Berlin's "Underworld"

"Bernauer Straße" - About the Berlin Wall etc.

"Bornholmer Straße - Former border crossing east/west

"Boxhagener Platz - Green area and flea market"

D E F

"Europacenter" - Shopping center etc.

Flakturm Humboldthain" - Bunker facility WW2

"Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg" - Busy airport

"Flughafen Berlin Tempelhof" - Recreational area.

"Escape tunnels between East and West Berlin - Kold krig

"Friedhof Invalidenhof - Soldiers Cemetery

G H I J K

"Old Danish Embassy"  - Tiergarten

Gedenkstätte Plötzensee" - Memorial

"Glienicker Brücke" - Dividing East/ West

"Pallasstrasse bunker" Bunker i centrum

" Weissensee Jewish Cemetery - Jewish cemetery

Karlshorst - German-Russian Museum"

L M N O P Q R S

"Majakowskiring"
GDR elite in Pankow

Prenzlauer Berg"

- Memorial

"Schöneberg town hall"  - JFK tale"

"Schwerbelastungs-
körper" - Pressure gauge

" Friedhof Grunewald-Forst - Cemetery for suicides

SS residences Zehlendorf

S T U V X Y Z

"Stasimuseum" - Stasimuseum

Teufelsberg" - NSA in Grunewald

"Tiergarten" - The Nordic Embassies"

"Tiergarten - Siegessäule" 67 meter tall victory column

"Villa Riefenstahl - Leni Riefenstahls House

"Zionskirche Prenzlauerberg - Where Bonhoeffer preached

Recreational areas:

"Grunewald"
- Berlins largest green areas

 Reconciliation Church

Strandbad Wannsee"
- Europe's largest lake bath

"Tempelhofer Park"
- Formerly Tempelhof Airport

"Tiergarten"
- Berlin's largest city park

"Volkspark Friedrichshein - Recreational area

"Volkspark Jungfernheide" - Recreational area

Food and drinks:

"Biergarden am Neuen See" in the Tiergarten.

Biergarden "Prater" - From 1837 and the oldest

Biergarden "Schleusenkrug", "Biergarden in Tiergarten".

"Mustafa’s Gemüse Kebap" - known all over Berlin

"Restaurant Zillemarkt" Unfortunately closed by now

"Zur letzten Instanz" - Oldest restaurant in Berlin

Berlin at War

A recommendation

 

Berlin's landmark is a bear

I have visited Berlin for many years. The first time was in the late 70s with a school class where the stay made such a big impression on me that I have been coming there very often ever since. The first times I visited the city, it was brutally divided into East and West and separated by the famous and infamous Berlin Wall, which from one day to the next separated families and friends.

The history of the construction of the Berlin Wall is long and begins in the division of Germany after World War II, where the four victors and allies - the Soviet Union, the United States, England and France divided the country between them. The capital, Berlin, from which the Allies were to jointly rule Germany, was also divided into four occupation zones, which each Allied ruled, however, in accordance with the overall agreements the four Allies had jointly

But the marriage was not a happy one and, in short, the differences between the United States, England and France, on the one hand, and the Soviet Union, on the other, became so big that cooperation was almost impossible.

The lack of cooperation led the Soviet Union to voluntarily decide to form the state of the GDR in their part of Germany, where West Berlin were located - now as a desert island in the east.

In the GDR, however, they had the problem that many of its inhabitants would rather live in the somewhat richer "West", where the Americans, unlike the Russians, provided financial assistance for the reconstruction after the "total war". In the Soviet-occupied German territories, the Russians instead dismantled most of the production equipment and moved it to the Soviet Union, and to make matters worse, the Germans were also ordered to pay war damages.

As the flow of refugees from the GDR increased, often by several thousand people a day, the then government of the GDR felt compelled, with the consent of the Soviet Union, to confine its population, otherwise within a few years there would be so few people left that the state no longer really would work. The flight to the West among young people, skilled and highly educated was so that the situation was unsustainable and something had to be done.  
The GDR had otherwise promised its population that after some hard years of toil and toil, the reward would come, but when you could see, not least via western TV, how the nation actually fell further and further behind in relation to the west, many began to doubt truth value of the statement. For the same reason, large parts of the population began to seep to the west and this could most easily happen via Berlin, where the borders between the various sectors were still open.

 When a GDR citizen had decided to become a “republican refugee”, he or she typically dressed like people from the West and then subsequently bought a train ticket to Berlin , if one did not already live there. In Berlin, the trip typically continued by "U-bahn" to West Berlin. During such an escape, no significant luggage could be included, as one would easily be recognized as what one was - a refugee - and then taken to the police station for questioning and imprisonment. Although there was free passage to West Berlin, many East German border guards were posted at the border and were largely solely responsible for keeping an eye on any refugees.

The iconic photo of the soldier who escaped from the GDR to the west

Well arrived in West Berlin, you had to sign up in e.g. the Marienfelde refugee camp to apply for a residence permit. Here one was interrogated and later typically assigned to a job according to qualifications and an apartment. Many former GDR citizens have passed through Marienfelde, where there now also is a museum. It is estimated that approx. 1.35 million people passed through the camp in Marienfelde until the fall of the wall in 1989.

West Berlin was a thorn in the side of the so-called communist regimes, which on several occasions tried to get the West Allies to leave Berlin and thus let it become part of the GDR, but when that failed, the Berlin Wall or "Antifaschistischer Schutzwall" as it was officially called in the GDR was built in 1961.

 

"Notaufnahmelager" Marienfelde (refugee camp)

The "Schandmauer" - or wall of shame as it was called in most of the western world - came to surround the whole of West Berlin. The day of shame - 13 August 1961 - was the day when a 41 km long wall was started and further developed the following years right up to the fall of the wall in 1989.

Memorial

It is estimated that approx. 14,000 border soldiers guarded the wall - which by the way consisted of several walls - even though 860,000 mines had been laid, more than 300 watchtowers erected, trenches built and more than 600 well-trained watchdogs exposed. Throughout the period from 1961 - 1989, it is estimated that there were more than 5,000 escape attempts and that a little more than 3,000 people were apprehended. Some of these escape attempts took place through the 57 escape tunnels dug under the Berlin Wall. In all, it is believed that 190 died during escape attempts.

World War II and the Berlin Wall - even after its dismantling - have of course left their mark on the city of Berlin and there is no doubt that these events have had a colossal historical significance, but one must not forget that Berlin is also an extremely interesting and modern city, where life is lived and where the cultural offerings are enormous.

 

Wanted