Checkpoint Charlie

Here it is, the famous Checkpoint Charlie. It’s one of those iconic places in Berlin that you probably already had in mind before coming. It was, of course, the former border crossing between East and West Berlin, operated by the American, British, and French Allied forces. This was where diplomats who could cross the wall would pass, and it was also where prisoners were exchanged. But you may be asking yourself, why Charlie? The explanation is quite simple; this was the third American checkpoint, and they used the NATO phonetic alphabet. The first two were Alpha and Bravo. This was truly a high-tension zone. In 1961, Soviet and American tanks stood face to face here for 16 hours! Eventually, Nikita Khrushchev and John Kennedy ordered the tanks to withdraw, in fear of a third world war! Some spectacular escapes also took place here – like that of the Austrian Heinz Meixner, who tampered with a convertible car in such a way that he managed to pass just under the barrier in his car and reached the American sector before the guards could react. And if you’re wondering about the face of the American soldier that you can see, well, it is Jeff Harper at 22 years old, a former tuba player in the U.S. Army. On the other side you’ll see his Russian counterpart, Aleksandr Sysoyev, who served in the Soviet armed forces. These mirrored images, representing young men of the same age, each in his respective reality, were displayed here to try and humanise the conflict and emphasise its universal nature. The border crossing, dismantled after the fall of the Wall, was reconstructed in the 1990s. Although it is now one of the most visited sites in Berlin, it’s heavily debated and its future remains uncertain. The city authorities find the site a bit too ‘Disney-like’ and don’t really approve of the heavy commercialisation surrounding it. They have proposed to build social housing and a proper Cold War museum in its place instead. Only time will tell.