You are leaving the American sector
Written: Mar 22 '00 (Updated Mar 26 '00)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Cold War history, Educational, Open daily 9am-10pm
Cons: None
|
|
|
| AlexG's Full Review: Checkpoint Charlie Museum |
He was 18 years old. Shot by East German border guards. Lying between East and West Berlin, in no-man’s land, bleeding, he cried for help. None of the horrified witnesses came to his aid. One hour passed. Eventually he was removed from the scene by East German guards. Too late. He bled to death. Peter Fechter was only one of more than 260 people who died trying to cross the Berlin Wall between 1961 and 1989.
Checkpoint Charlie. It’s a part of Cold War history--its witness and its keeper. Checkpoint Charlie was erected in August 1961, soon after the overnight birth of the Berlin Wall, and served as a crossing point between East and West Berlin. Its name comes from the U.S. military phonetic alphabet. At the time, there were two other U.S. checkpoints in the area--Alpha, at the East and West German border, and Bravo, at the West Berlin and East Germany border. Charlie was the next letter.
I visited Checkpoint Charlie in August of 1999. A museum, a double-sided warning sign (YOU ARE LEAVING THE AMERICAN SECTOR on the West Berlin side and YOU ARE ENTERING THE AMERICAN SECTOR on the East Berlin side, written in English, Russian, French and German), and a double-sided photo post (with Russian soldier on one side and American soldier on the other side) are all that remain from the place where in 1961 American and Soviet tanks stood for 10 days facing each other.
It was easy for me to go around the sign, entering West Berlin, then stepping back into East Berlin. Back and forth, back and forth. And it was scary to think that only a short time ago, perhaps in your lifetime, hundreds of people died trying to step over that border line.
Checkpoint Charlie museum is a fascinating Cold War museum. I also think it is very underrated by most travel guides. While meeting other backpackers in Berlin and sharing thoughts on what’s worth seeing, Checkpoint Charlie was one of the first sights that everyone brought up in a conversation. There are many devices on display in Checkpoint Charlie that were successfully used by East Germans to cross the Wall--a Volkswagen with a secret compartment, electric generator, also with a secret compartment, tourist luggage that a human body could fit in, an underwater propeller device with underwater accessories for crossing the border in one of Berlin’s canals, and many other interesting devices that pushed human imagination to its limits. Some people dug tunnels, some even flew over the wall in self-made air balloons. An estimated 5000 people were able to cross the Wall. Checkpoint Charlie has the most incredible stories about people’s escape to freedom.
There are many interesting things to see, read, and watch at Checkpoint Charlie. There is one particular painting I remember very well. It shows Erich Honeker, the leader of GDR and Leonid Brezhnev, the leader of the USSR passionately kissing on the lips. (This is actually true, Brezhnev had a habit of kissing other comrades from the communist party as a sign of respect and solidarity). There is a headline written in Russian next to the painting. In translation, it says: “God, help us survive this deadly love.” Unfortunately, many, like Peter Fechter didn’t make it.
Checkpoint Charlie is not to be missed on your trip to Berlin.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
AlexG
|
 - Top 500 |
|
Location: New York, NY
Reviews written: 130
Trusted by: 239 members
About Me:
Alex has a voracious appetite for travel. Travel hasn't satisfied an appetite. It's created one.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.