Checkpoint Charlie was a checkpoint booth along the border between East and West Berlin in the American sector and was originally set up in August of 1961 as a response to the construction of the Berlin Wall by the East Germans.[1] The name Checkpoint Charlie comes from the NATO phonetic alphabet (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie). It was the third checkpoint opened in Berlin after the crossings at Helmstedt-Marienborn (Alpha) and Dreilinden-Drewitz (Bravo)[2] with Charlie being located on Friedrichstrasse, a historic street in the American occupied zone. Its importance also came from the fact that it was the only gateway where Allied diplomats, military personnel, and foreign tourists were allowed into East Berlin. The allied nations of the United States, France, and Britain stationed military police at Checkpoint Charlie as a response to this restriction by the East Berlin Government and the guards spent most of their time monitoring diplomatic and military traffic. Not only that, but the military police were there to register and provide information to travelers before they ventured beyond the Wall and into East Berlin. Unlike the East German checkpoints, they were not there to restrict movement between East and West, only to inform.[3] Even after the Berlin Wall was demolished on November 9^th, 1989 Checkpoint Charlie remained in operation until seven months later when the original building was removed during a ceremony attended by French, British, American, German and Soviet dignitaries. A replica version of the guard house was later installed on Friedrichstrasse, and is still there today as a tourist attraction, but the original can still be found at the Allied Museum in Berlin.[4]

[1] Andrews, Evan. "8 Things You Should Know About Checkpoint Charlie." History.com. June 22,

[2] "Checkpoint Charlie." VisitBerlin.de.

[3] Pickhardt, Stephen. "Visiting Checkpoint Charlie and the Checkpoint Charlie Musuem." Free Tours by Foot. May 01, 2018.

[4] Andrews, Evan. "8 Things You Should Know About Checkpoint Charlie." History.com. June 22,

This destination is the second stop on the Sites of Tension and Conflict in East Berlin tour. Click Here to return to the tour Overview page.

Checkpoint Charlie is significant not just as a border crossing between the East and West sections of Berlin. It is also extremely significant as it was the sight of one of the most dangerous confrontations of the Cold War. On October 27^th, 1961 tanks and soldiers on both sides of the border faced off, both with live munitions and both with orders to fire if fired upon by the enemy.[1] This was the peak of what was referred to as the "Berlin Crisis" that many scholars claim started in 1958 and lasted until 1962, but the term also refers more specifically to the dates from around June to November of 1961 during which the Berlin Wall was under construction, and this stand off between the East and West took place. While there was tension between the two halves of Berlin before 1958, it was not until a speech given by the leader of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, who offered an ultimatum where he called for the demilitarization of West Berlin by the Western powers in the next six months. Afterwards, the Soviet Union would take over control of communications meaning that Western powers would only be able to enter West Berlin with permission from East Berlin. The Western powers refused, and with no real way to back up his ultimatum, Khrushchev backed off, but not before he had significantly increased the tension between the two sides.[2] Khrushchev and the Soviets were still set on attempting to gain control over the East constantly leading up to 1961[3] and the tension that had be built would eventually come to a head in that same year when, in an attempt by the Soviets to cut off more of the West's reach into the East, the senior American diplomat in Berlin, Allan Lightner, and his wife were stopped by East German police at Checkpoint Charlie and, despite having all the right papers, and the right to cross freely into East Berlin because of the treaties in place, they not allowed through the checkpoint. Matters only continued to escalate as more Americans were turned away to the point that they were eventually accompanied by a military escort, and eventually, on October 25^th, 10 M-48 tanks. The next day the Soviets brought 33 of their own tanks to East Berlin, and on the 27^th, lined up ten of their own tanks across from the Americans. After nearly 24 hours, the Soviets finally backed their tanks away and 30 minutes later the Americans did the same.[4] Checkpoint Charlie is yet another site within Berlin that was of major importance to both the East and West, and situations like the Berlin Crisis and the face off of tanks was just another reminder of the tensions between the East and rest of the world and the kind of lengths that the Soviets were seemingly willing to go to.

[1] Garthoff, Raymond L. "Berlin 1961: The Record Corrected." (1991): 142.

[2] Barker, Elisabeth. "The Berlin Crisis 1958-1962." (1963): 60-61.

[3] "Letter from Ulbricht to Khrushchev," January 18, 1961, History and Public Policy Program Digital Archive, SED Archives, Berlin

[4] Garthoff, Raymond L. "Berlin 1961: The Record Corrected." (1991): 143-145.

Andrews, Evan. "8 Things You Should Know About Checkpoint Charlie." History.com. June 22, https://www.history.com/news/8-things-you-should-know-about-checkpoint-charlie.

Barker, Elisabeth. "The Berlin Crisis 1958-1962." International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1944-) 39, no. 1 (1963): 59-73.

"Checkpoint Charlie." VisitBerlin.de. https://www.visitberlin.de/en/checkpoint-charlie.

Garthoff, Raymond L. "Berlin 1961: The Record Corrected." Foreign Policy, no. 84 (1991): 142- 56.

"Letter from Ulbricht to Khrushchev," January 18, 1961, History and Public Policy Program Digital Archive, SED Archives, Berlin. IfGA, ZPA, J IV 2/202/129. CWIHP Working Paper No. 5, "Ulbricht and the Concrete 'Rose.'" Translated for CWIHP by Hope Harrison. https://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/117140

Pickhardt, Stephen. "Visiting Checkpoint Charlie and the Checkpoint Charlie Musuem." Free Tours by Foot. May 01, 2018. https://freetoursbyfoot.com/checkpoint-charlie/#checkpoint.