(Dave Didio/Stars and Stripes)

Berlin, Germany, June 22, 1990: Dignitaries stand in front of Checkpoint Charlie as the historic guard post is removed by a crane. The site of many daring escapes, one infamous showdown between U.S. and Soviet forces in 1961, and immortalized in hundreds of spy novels and films, the small guard house was the only gateway where East Germany allowed Allied diplomats, military personnel, and foreign tourists to pass into Berlin’s Soviet sector.

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