Checkpoint Bravo ("Checkpoint B") was the name given by the

Western Allies The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during the Second World War (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy ...

to the main

Autobahn The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track' ...

border crossing point between

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

and the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

. It was known in German as . Drewitz is a community nearby, and Dreilinden is the name of the wooded area in Berlin through which the highway passes.

Geography

The checkpoint was located on the A 115 motorway (known within Berlin as the ''

AVUS The Automobil-Verkehrs- und Übungsstraße ('Automobile traffic and training road'), known as AVUS, is a public road in Berlin, Germany. Opened in 1921, it was also used as a motor racing circuit until 1998. Today, the AVUS forms the northern p ...

''), between the Berliner locality of Nikolassee and the

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...

er rural community of Drewitz, part of the municipality of

Kleinmachnow Kleinmachnow is a municipality of about 20,000 inhabitants in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated South-West of the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf and East of Potsdam. First mentioned in the Landbuch of Karl ...

History

The checkpoint was the nearest motorway border crossing point to the

Helmstedt–Marienborn border crossing The Helmstedt–Marienborn border crossing (german: Grenzübergang Helmstedt-Marienborn), named ''Grenzübergangsstelle Marienborn'' (GÜSt) (''border crossing Marienborn'') by the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was the largest and most import ...

("Checkpoint Alpha") on the border of West Germany, making it part of the shortest highway transit route between

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

and West Berlin. The checkpoint was shifted slightly during 1969 from Drewitz (part of

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream o ...

), after the East German authorities realigned the transit route to eliminate a brief re-entry into GDR territory before transit traffic could finally enter West Berlin. The new checkpoint was relocated to Nikolassee (part of the district of Zehlendorf).

Since German reunification

The site of the original, pre-1969 checkpoint (rest stop, adjacent car park and abandoned highway) was used in filming the television series. The site itself, "which includes a derelict bridge and a crumbling cafe covered in graffiti," was auctioned in September 2010 for €45,000. The vast site of the East-German checkpoint was eventually converted into a commercial park named . All that remains of the checkpoint is the former main control tower that now houses a museum of the checkpoint.Memorial site of Checkpoint Bravo

Gallery

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-L0331-0005, Potsdam, Grenzübergang Drewitz-Dreilinden.jpg, Congestion at the East German checkpoint in Drewitz in March 1972 after the temporary easing of travel restrictions into East Germany. File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-L0331-0007, Potsdam, Grenzübergang Drewitz-Dreilinden.jpg, Congestion at the East German checkpoint in Drewitz in March 1972 after the temporary easing of travel restrictions into East Germany. File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-L0330-0025, Potsdam, Grenzübergang Drewitz-Dreilinden.jpg, East German border guards checking vehicles at the checkpoint in Drewitz in March 1972 after the easing of travel restrictions into East Germany. File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-L0402-0016, Potsdam, Grenzübergang Drewitz-Dreilinden.jpg, East German border guards checking vehicles at the checkpoint in Drewitz in March 1972 after the easing of travel restrictions into East Germany. File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-L0401-0300, Potsdam, Grenzübergang Drewitz-Dreilinden, Bus.jpg, West Berlin passengers board buses to travel in East Germany at the Drewitz checkpoint in March 1972 after the temporary easing of travel restrictions into East Germany. File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-L0329-0028, Potsdam, Grenzübergang Drewitz-Dreilinden.jpg, West Berlin passengers board buses to travel in East Germany at the Drewitz checkpoint in March 1972 after the temporary easing of travel restrictions into East Germany. File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-L0330-0033, Potsdam, Grenzübergang Drewitz-Dreilinden, Kontrolle in Bus.jpg, East German border guards check passes of West Berlin passengers in March 1972 after the temporary easing of travel restrictions into East Germany. File:De Transit Drewitz 1986.jpg, Transit traffic from West Germany waiting to enter West Berlin at the East German checkpoint at Drewitz in 1986. Drivers and passengers would push their cars to save fuel. File:Checkpoint Drewitz-Dreilinden 2009 PD 20090320 002.JPG, Former checkpoint in 2009. File:Passportstempel DDR Drewitz2.jpg, Passport stamps from the Drewitz checkpoint.

References

External links