35 years ago…Checkpoint Charlie Closed

June is a truly a banner month for freedom and democracy.  June is the month in which we celebrate D-Day, Flag Day, and Juneteenth. 

Another event, outside our nation, that marks a significant moment in democracy is the fall of the Berlin Wall and the closing of Checkpoint Charlie. The most expensive war of our existence was the Cold War.  From 1947 to 1991, the struggle between democracy and communism was at the forefront.  The Berlin Wall personified the struggle between the United States and what was then the Soviet Union (Russia) for world supremacy.  Checkpoint Charlie was the most common crossing point between East and West Berlin during the Cold War.  Today the original guardhouse is located in the Allied Museum in Berlin.  However, a duplicate sits on the original site for tourists to take pictures in front of it.

Checkpoint Charlie closed 35 years ago on June 22, 1990.  While the tearing down of the Berlin Wall was the official end of the Cold War, its closing can be viewed as the resolute moment that Freedom and Democracy defeated tyranny. 

Parts of the Berlin Wall have been distributed throughout the world as it was 37 miles long when it was in existence.  Parts of it can be viewed in the Atlanta area and other parts of Georgia.  In Atlanta, a section rests at the Atlanta International School Campus.  In Kennesaw, at Kennesaw State University, a piece is on display at the Museum of History and Holocaust Education on its campus.  At Fort Benning in Columbus, there are three pieces of the wall located inside the U.S. Army's collection at the National Infantry Museum includes three sections of the wall in the "Cold War" gallery.  Finally, Suwanee has a piece located in their town square. 

Atlanta International School 

   Kennesaw State University

Fort Benning, Columbus

Suwanee, Georgia