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Gene Bane ©Stars and StripesEast Berlin, December, 1960: A billboard towering above a Christmas carnival in Berlin's eastern sector reminds visitors that the Soviet Union's success in launching a smiling rocket in the general direction of an equally-happy moon proves that Der Sozialismus Siegt — "Socialism Wins." Although the Communist government took great pains to avoid endorsing the holiday celebration, a Stars and Stripes story noted that "the Christmas spirit even seemed to have prevailed over politics for the moment." Sort of.

RELATED MATERIAL: A 1960 Stars and Stripes story about Christmastime in East Berlin.