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Checkpoint Charlie

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Checkpoint Charlie (June 2003)

During the Cold War, Checkpoint Charlie was one of three crossing points between East and West Germany (the others being Checkpoint Alpha at Helmstedt, and Checkpoint Bravo at Dreilinden; all named following the NATO phonetic alphabet). Checkpoint Charlie was constructed on Friedrichstrasse in the heart of Berlin (the Soviets simply called the Friedrichstraße Crossing Point).

Checkpoint Charlie became a symbol of the Cold War, representing the seperation of east and west, and - for the East Germans - a gateway to freedom. Checkpoint Charlie was frequently featured in espionage movies and books, such as those by John le Carré.

Early escapes

The Wall was erected with great efficiency, but naturally there were many means of escape that the Soviets had not anticipated. Checkpoint Charlie was initially blocked only by a gate; a citizen of the BDR (East Germany) smashed a car through it to escape, so a strong pole was erected. Another escapee approached the barrier in a convertible, took the windscreen down at the last moment and slipped under the barrier. This was repeated two weeks later and the East Germans duly lowered the barrier and added uprights.

Diplomatic Row

The four powers governing Berlin ( the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union) had agreed at Potsdam that their personnel would not be stopped by German police in any zone. But on 22 October 1961, the US Mission Chief, E. Allan Lightner, was stopped in his car (which had occupation force licence plates) while going to a theatre in East Berlin. General Lucius D. Clay, Kennedy's Special Adviser in West Berlin, decided to demonstrate American resolve.

Clay responds

Clay sent an American diplomat, Albert Hemsing, to probe the border. While probing in a diplomatic car, Hemsig was stopped by East German transport police asking to see his passport. Once his identity became clear, military police were rushed in. The East German Transport Police escorted the diplomatic car as it drove into East Berlin. The shocked GDR police got out of the way. The car continued and the soldiers returned to West Berlin. A British diplomat - apparently either out of the loop or attempting to conciliate - was stopped the next day and just handed over his passport, and Clay was furious.

Perhaps this contributed to his decision to try his stunt again: on 27 October 1961, Mr. Hemsing again approached the zonal boundary in a diplomatic car. But Clay did not know how the Soviets would respond, so just in case, he had brought tanks with an infantry battalion to the nearby Tempelhof airfield. To everyone's relief the same routine was played out as before. The US troops and Jeeps went back to West Berlin, and the tanks waiting behind also went home.

Tank Stand-off

Immediately afterwards, 33 Russian tanks drove to the Brandenburg Gate. Curiously, Khruschev claimed in his memoirs that as he understood it, the American jeeps had seen Russian tanks coming and retreated. Col. Jim Atwood, then Commander of the US Military Mission to West Berlin, disagreed in later statements.

10 of these tanks continued to Friedrichstraße, and stopped just 50 to 100 yards from the Checkpoint. The US tanks turned back towards the Checkpoint, stopping an equal distance from it on the American side. And they just waited. From the 27th at 17:00 until the 28th at about 11:00, the respective troops faced each other.

As per standing orders, both groups of tanks were loaded. The US Garrison in West Berlin, then NATO, and finally the US Strategic Air Command (SAC), were brought to increased alert (Defense Condition 3?). Both groups of tanks had orders to fire when fired upon. If there had been a negligent discharge, the consequences might therefore have been very serious indeed, although both superpowers' leaders understood that Berlin was not worth general war.

Stand-off resolved

John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khruschev (according to one source, via a channel established just a month before), agreed to reduce tensions by withdrawing the tanks. The Soviet checkpoint had direct communications to General Anatoly Gribkov at Soviet Army High Command, who in turn was on the phone to Khruschev. The US checkpoint contained a Military Policeman on the telephone to the HQ of the US Military Mission in Berlin, which in turn was in communication with the White House. Kennedy offered to go easy over Berlin in the future in return for the Soviets removing their tanks first. Thinking they had won a political victory, the Soviets agreed. In reality Kennedy was very much in favour of the Wall: "It's not a very nice solution, but a wall is better than war."

A Soviet tank moved 5 yards backwards first; then an American followed suit. One by one the tanks withdrew. But Gen. Bruce Clark, US Commander in the FRG (Federal Republic of Germany: West Germany), was said to have been concerned about Clay's conduct and Clay returned to retirement in May 1962. Gen. Clark's assessment may, however, have been incomplete: Clay's firmness had a great effect on the German population, led by Berlin Mayor Willy Brandt and FRG Chancellor Konrad Adenauer.

Checkpoint Charlie (April 2005)

Death of Peter Fechter

On 17 August 1962, Peter Fechter was wounded in the hip, shot by East German guards while trying to escape from East Berlin. His body layed tangled in a barbed wire fence, slowly bleeding to death, in full view of the world’s media. American soldiers could not rescue him because he was a few yards inside the Russian sector. East German border guards were reluctant to approach him for fear of provoking American soldiers, one of who had been shot just days earlier. Over an hour later Mr. Fechter’s body was removed by the East German guards.

Angry Demonstration

A spontaneous demonstration formed on the American side of the checkpoint, protesting the actions of the East and the inactions of the West: a few days later, the crowd stoned Soviet buses driving towards the Tiergarten Soviet War Memorial, in the British sector. The Soviets tried to escort the buses with [[Armored Personnel Carriers] ("APCs"). Thereafter, the Soviets were only allowed to cross via the Sandkrug Bridge crossing point (which was the nearest to Tiergarten) and were prohibited from bringing in APCs.

Western Response

Western units were deployed in the middle of the night in early September with live armaments and vehicles, in order to enforce the ban. None of this ammunition was ever expended, although East German border guards in 1973 opened fire with automatic weapons, leaving bulletholes in Checkpoint Charlie, but no US personnel were hurt.

Checkpoint Charlie Today

File:62411752 8021f8180a.jpg
North-facing sign at the former East-West Berlin border

The checkpoint was dismantled after the fall of the wall and subsequent reunification of Germany in late 1989. The course of the former wall is now marked on the street with a line of bricks. A copy of the booth and sign that once marked the border crossing was later erected where Checkpoint Charlie once stood. The original booth is in the Allied Museum in Zehlendorf. Near the location of the Booth is the Checkpoint Charlie Museum. Developers tore down the East German checkpoint watchtower in 2000. This famous symbol of the Cold War was removed in a clandestine manner so as to attract a minimum amount of attention. The watchtower, which was the last surviving original Checkpoint Charlie structure, was demolished to make way for offices and shops. The city tried to save the tower but failed as it was not classified as an historic landmark. To date (January 2006) nothing has been built this site and the original proposals for develpoment have been shelved.

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