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Checkpoint on the road to Berlin, 1960

By Joe Gromelski
Published: July 6, 2010

Marty Gershen/Stars and Stripes
Germany, April, 1961: A military policeman gives instructions to a woman who's about to drive the stretch of the autobahn in East German territory between Helmstedt and Berlin. He's showing her an aerial photo of the Helmstedt area, labeled with the positions of the U.S., Soviet, West German and East German checkpoints. Travelers were instructed not to stop, stray from the route, or communicate with East German soldiers (because doing so would acknowledge the sovereignty of East Germany). The trip was to be made within 2 1/2 to four hours ... no more, no less.

RELATED MATERIAL:
Read Stripes' 1961 story about traveling the Helmstedt-Berlin route here.

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