By Claudia Molloy, Tullamore Library
On the 30th anniversary of the dismantling of the famous Checkpoint Charlie on June 22nd do you remember where you were when this historical event took place?
I was settling into primary school life but it was to be instilled immensely through second and third level education. Being so young, I didn’t realise that this was such a monumental event. I understand now how emotional, empowering and uplifting this event was for humankind.
The Berlin Wall was constructed in 1961 and in 1989 the Wall came tumbling down after over 50 years of segregation among family, friends and politics. During the Cold War, Berlin’s Checkpoint Charlie was one of the crossing points between East and West Berlin and East and West Germany. It was operated by members of the U.S. military in the American Sector of the city. Located by the Berlin Wall, which divided the German city during the Cold War, Checkpoint Charlie was at the junction of Friedrichstrasse with Zimmerstrasse and Mauerstrasse. Checkpoint Charlie was dismantled on the 22nd of June, 1990, about seven months after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Thousands rushed to the wall in the first few days after its opening. You can see their sheer delight after years of segregation.
Checkpoint Charlie, one of the ultimate symbols of the Cold War, came to epitomize the separation between east and west. For nearly thirty years, this checkpoint represented not only a divided Germany but a world in political turmoil.
Checkpoint Charlie and the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was erected in 1961 by the East German government to prevent its citizens from fleeing to the more prosperous West. Shortly after the wall was built, President John F. Kennedy ordered the U.S. forces to build three checkpoints at different points in the wall through which diplomatic corps and allied forces could enter West Berlin. Checkpoint Charlie became the most famous.
Checkpoint Charlie got its name from the phonetic alphabet. (The others were Alpha and Bravo… a, b, c). By 1962, this checkpoint was the only place at which foreigners visiting Berlin could cross from West to East and back again. Located in the Friedrichstadt neighbourhood in the heart of Berlin, the checkpoint was the subject of many movies – James Bond in ‘Octopussy’ and appeared frequently in spy novels – John le Carré’s ‘The Spy Who Came in from the Cold’ penned during the Cold War era.
American tanks at Checkpoint Charlie on Friedrichstrasse in 1961.
In the early years, Checkpoint Charlie was the site of a few stand-offs between East and West, America and the Soviets, most notoriously in 1961 when American and Soviet tanks faced each other at the checkpoint. Checkpoint Charlie was removed in June of 1990, when German reunification was almost complete. Removal was not difficult as the Americans never built any permanent structures at the site.
Checkpoint Charlie Today
Today, a line of bricks traces the path where the Berlin Wall once stood and visitors will find a replica of the Checkpoint Charlie booth and sign at the original site. The original booth is in the Allied Museum in Zehlendorf. The watchtower, also part of the original checkpoint, was removed in 2000 to make way for stores and offices.
It is most definitely on my wish list to visit this iconic historical site.
There are a range of both fiction and non-fiction books based on the Berlin Wall and The Cold War free for library members on BorrowBox. Here are just some of what is available:
Fiction
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