Checkpoint Charlie was the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War (1947–1991), as named by the Western Allies.
A view of Checkpoint Charlie in 1963, from the American sector
Sign at Checkpoint Charlie on the way into West Berlin, as it appeared in 1981
Soviet Zone from Checkpoint Charlie observation post, 1982
US M48 Patton tanks facing Soviet T-55 tanks at Checkpoint Charlie in October 1961
The Berlin Wall was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the German Democratic Republic. Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government of the GDR on 13 August 1961. It included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, accompanied by a wide area that contained anti-vehicle trenches, beds of nails and other defenses. The primary intention for the Wall's construction was to prevent East German citizens from fleeing to the West.
From the West Berlin side, Berlin Wall graffiti art in 1986. The Wall's "death strip", on the east side of the Wall, here follows the curve of the Luisenstadt Canal (filled in 1932).
East German Combat Groups of the Working Class close the border on 13 August 1961 in preparation for the Berlin Wall construction.
East German construction workers building the Berlin Wall, 20 November 1961
US President John F. Kennedy visiting the Berlin Wall on 26 June 1963
