"I THINK THAT'S THEIR BUSINESS"

ALLIES SUGGEST SOVIET GUARDS USE ALTERNATE CROSSING POINTS IN BERLIN OTHER THAN CHECKPOINT CHARLIE

Berlin (JFK+50) On September 3,1962, Associated Press reports "the Western allies halted a Soviet guard convoy at Checkpoint Charlie yesterday and suggested the Russians use the Brandenburg Gate* or the Sandkrug-Bruecke crossing."

The suggestions came from Major General Albert Watson III (US), Major General Claude Dunbar (UK) & Major General Edouard Toulouse (FR).

JFK+50 NOTE

Since the Soviets had blocked the Brandenburg Gate, it was asked how they could go about driving through it.  An informant replied...

"I think that's their business."

*Brandenburg Gate is an 18th century classical monument located in Berlin, Germany.  BG opened in 1791.  For almost 30 years the gate was obstructed by the Berlin Wall.

SOURCE

"Allies Suggest Russians Use Easier Berlin Entry," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., September 3, 1962, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/

 

 

The Brandenburg Gate

Berlin, Germany

photo by Cezary p at Polish Wikipedia

2007

"IN FACE OF NEW COMMUNIST CROSSING RESTRICTIONS"

WESTERN ALLIES POSITION TANKS & INFANTRY AT BERLIN CROSSING GATE

Berlin (JFK+50) On August 23, 1961, the United States, Great Britain and France "pushed tanks and infantry up to the sector border dividing Berlin...in the face of new Communist restrictions on traffic between the East and West parts of the city."

U.S. Army Patton tanks appeared at the Friedrichstrasse* Gate which remains, with the new restrictions, the only place where "all foreigners going into East Berlin" may cross.

According to The Evening Star, the American tanks "looked as if they were aiming their guns directly at the building that houses many East German government offices."

*The Friedrichstrasse Station was known as 'the palace of tears' because it was where Jews boarded on trains headed for concentration camps during the Holocaust.

JFK+50 NOTE

The border between East & West Germany was sealed by the Communists on August 13, 1961 with a small number of crossing points remaining.  Foreigners and Allied personnel went through "Checkpoint Charlie."

SOURCES

"Allies Push Troops To Sector Border," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., August 23, 1961, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/ 

"FriedrichstraBe Station and Palace of Tears," www.dark-tourism.com/

 "Checkpoint Charlie"

Berlin

by Petershagen (1986)

www.flickr.com