I've been to Berlin twice (both very short trips) and, while I had visited parts of the former Berlin Wall and the current
East Side Gallery, where artists have decorated the wall with images of hope and peace, I had never once visited Checkpoint Charlie. Therefore, today I made what I thought would be a quick trip to Checkpoint Charlie. Little did I know how deeply the site and the neighboring
museum would pull me in. I'll let the pictures below speak for themselves.
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| Berlin was divided into East and West Berlin, just as Germany was divided into East and West Germany. The American, British, and French forces controlled West Germany while East Berlin was controlled by the Soviets (and the GDR). |
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| GDR certification plaque on the Berlin Wall |
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| Some people were able to escape East Germany in the trunks of cars or on "official" (and expensive) diplomatic missions. This woman escaped inside modified speakers in the trunk of a car. |
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| "The exact conditions of each successful escape will be meticulously analyzed and documented by the MfS so that, through further perfection, the 'weak points' of the border system can be eliminated." (MfS = Ministry for State Security = the East German secret police, commonly known as the "Stasi") |
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| Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich played Bach in front of the Berlin Wall as the Wall fell in 1989. |
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| "Freedom is always freedom of those who think differently." |
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