The Helmstedt–Marienborn border crossing (), named ''Grenzübergangsstelle Marienborn'' (GÜSt) (''border crossing Marienborn'') by the
German Democratic Republic
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
(GDR), was the largest and most important border crossing on the
Inner German border
The inner German border ( or ''deutsch–deutsche Grenze''; initially also , zonal boundary) was the frontier between the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) and the West Germany, Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West ...
during the
division of Germany
Division may refer to:
Mathematics
*Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication
*Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military
*Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 to ...
. Due to its geographical location, allowing for the shortest land route between
West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
and
West Berlin
West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...
, most transit traffic to and from West Berlin used the Helmstedt-Marienborn crossing. Most travel routes from West Germany to
East Germany
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
and
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
also used this crossing. The border crossing existed from 1945 to 1990 and was situated near the East German village of
Marienborn
Marienborn is a village and a former municipality in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it has been part of the municipality of Sommersdorf. It is about southwest of Haldensleben. The historic pilgrimage centre n ...
at the edge of the
Lappwald. The crossing interrupted the
Bundesautobahn 2
is an autobahn in Germany that connects the Ruhr area in the west to Berlin in the east. The A 2 starts at the junction with the Bundesautobahn 3, A3 near the western city of Oberhausen, passes through the north of the Ruhr valley, through ...
(A 2) between the junctions ''
Helmstedt
Helmstedt (; Eastphalian: ''Helmstidde'') is a town on the eastern edge of the German state of Lower Saxony. It is the capital of the District of Helmstedt. The historic university and Hanseatic city conserves an important monumental heritage o ...
-Ost'' and ''
Ostingersleben
Ostingersleben is a village and a former municipality in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.
Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the municipality Ingersleben
Ingersleben is a municipality in the Börde (district), Börde Districts o ...
''.
History
First checkpoints
A checkpoint was established on the site on 1 July 1945, which was on the demarcation line between the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
and
Soviet
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
occupation zones. Its scope included the interzonal railway traffic as well as the motor vehicle traffic on the
Reichsautobahn
The system was the beginning of the German autobahns under Nazi Germany. There had been previous plans for controlled-access highway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traf ...
between
Hanover
Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
and
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
. The checkpoint buildings were located directly on the zones' border, and consisted of little more than temporary wooden buildings.
The most important inner-German checkpoint, the
Autobahn
The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'.
Much of t ...
crossing at Helmstedt was named ''Alpha'' by the
Western Allies
Western Allies was a political and geographic grouping among the Allied Powers of the Second World War. It primarily refers to the leading Anglo-American Allied powers, namely the United States and the United Kingdom, although the term has also be ...
. Its counterpart in the Berlin southern borough of
Dreilinden was named ''
Bravo
Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels
* Bravo (band), a Russian rock band
* Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984
* Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing compa ...
''. The connection between these checkpoints gained its importance from being the shortest connection between the western zones and Berlin, at . During the
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, roa ...
, which endured from June 1948 to May 1949, the Soviet checkpoint was closed.
The border was initially manned by the
Royal Military Police
The Royal Military Police (RMP) is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of army service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK and while service personnel are deployed overseas on operations ...
and the
Group of Soviet Occupation Forces In Germany
The Western Group of Forces (WGF), previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG) and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG), were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupation ...
.
From 1950 onwards, the East German ' (later the ') performed the border control on the eastern side of the checkpoint while the Soviet Army escorted
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
military traffic to and from West Berlin. Due to the increasing tensions between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union during the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
, the border crossing was expanded extensively and security was increased during the following years. However, the original checkpoint was eventually regarded too unsafe to operate efficiently.
Expansion in the 1970s

Between 1972 and 1974, the GDR erected a new control portal on a field situated on a hill near Marienborn, about east of the border. The control portal was staffed with as many as 1,000 passport control, customs, and border police employees. The buildings were linked with a tunnel system, through which military or police units could reach the control portal quickly and secretly.
The Western Allies kept control of their checkpoint on the western side, with small garrisons of
French,
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
and
American troops stationed in Helmstedt. The West German
Bundesgrenzschutz
Bundesgrenzschutz (; abbreviation: BGS; ) is the former name of the German ''Bundespolizei'' (Federal Police). Established on 16 March 1951 as a subordinate agency of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the BGS originally was primarily focu ...
had assumed control of the operative controls on the western side of the border crossing, where the buildings were notably smaller compared with Marienborn.

The restrictive East German controls and the ever-increasing amount of traffic soon resulted in notable waiting times on the West German side. Therefore, the West German government added extensive
car park
A parking lot or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface. In most jurisdic ...
s and
rest area
A rest area is a public facility located next to a large thoroughfare such as a motorway, Limited-access road, expressway, or highway, at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting onto secondary roads. Other names ...
s on the autobahn approach to Helmstedt.
Border controls were relaxed after the ''
Wende'' during late 1989. The crossing was dismantled at midnight on June 30, 1990, exactly 45 years after its first opening. The former GDR buildings have been a
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
since October 1990, however the former GDR departures area was demolished when the road was expanded to six lanes. A rest stop with a motel has now been built on part of the old GDR control portal's area.
Checkpoint Alpha
The Helmstedt-Marienborn checkpoint was one of three checkpoints used by the Western Allies. Its western side (in the former British zone) was labeled ''Checkpoint Alpha'', after the first letter of the
NATO phonetic alphabet
The International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet or simply the Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet, commonly known as the NATO phonetic alphabet, is the most widely used set of clear-code words for communicating the letters of the Latin/Roman ...
. The Allied side of the checkpoint for entry into West Berlin was named ''
Checkpoint Bravo'', and ''
Checkpoint Charlie
Checkpoint Charlie (or "Checkpoint C") was the Western Bloc, Western Bloc's name for the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War (1947–1991), becoming a symbol of the Cold War, representin ...
'' was the Allied checkpoint for entry into (and exit from)
East Berlin
East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...
.
The nomenclature of "checkpoint", as opposed to the East German ''"Grenzübergangsstelle"'' (which literally means "border-crossing-place") was a result of the Western Allies not recognising the legitimacy of
East Germany
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
as a state. That changed in 1973, when the GDR was admitted to the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
, but the term remained in use.
Division memorial
On the grounds of the former East German border control buildings, the "Gedenkstätte Deutsche Teilung Marienborn" was opened on August 13, 1996. The memorial is operated by the state of
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of
and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...
and features exhibitions and guided tours. The memorial site is accessible via the nearby rest stop's exit and can only be explored on foot.
The West German buildings near Helmstedt have either been demolished or are now used for other purposes.
Further reading
* Hans-Jürgen Mielke: ''Die Autobahn Berlin-Helmstedt'', Reimer-Verlag 1984,
* Friedrich Christian Delius and Peter Joachim Lapp, ''Transit Westberlin. Erlebnisse im Zwischenraum,'' Berlin: Ch.Links Verlag, 2000.
Films
* ''
Halt! Hier Grenze - Auf den Spuren der innerdeutschen Grenze'', Documentary, Germany 2005
* In the 1983 film ''
The Day After
''The Day After'' is a 1983 American television film directed by Nicholas Meyer. The war film postulates a fictional conflict between NATO and the Warsaw Pact over Germany that rapidly escalates into a full-scale nuclear exchange between the ...
'', NATO forces cross the border in an attempt to break a Soviet military buildup in East Germany. The attack backfires, resulting in a Soviet invasion of West Germany, and eventually culminating in a full-scale
nuclear war
Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a War, military conflict or prepared Policy, political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are Weapon of mass destruction, weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conven ...
between NATO and the
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...
.
See also
*
Checkpoint Bravo
*
Checkpoint Charlie
Checkpoint Charlie (or "Checkpoint C") was the Western Bloc, Western Bloc's name for the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War (1947–1991), becoming a symbol of the Cold War, representin ...
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helmstedt-Marienborn border crossing
History of transport in Germany
Checkpoints
Inner German border
1945 establishments in Germany
1990 disestablishments in Germany