Checkpoint Charlie and the Wall

by Werner Sikorski, Rainer Laabs

Why was the Wall built? What did it mean to live in its shadow? This documentation, illustrated with unusual pictorial and cartographic material, takes the reader through five momentous centuries of German history.

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A real treat: a brisk, informative history of the Berlin Wall supplemented by a number of archival photographs. It covers the period from construction through its destruction and reads like a good newspaper feature with numerous anecdotes and solid facts. The book has been translated into English and I would recommend it for young persons interested in the historical episode.

Some interesting facts:
• More than 3,000 existing gravesites were appropriated when the Wall was built, of which only 230 still exist;
• At least 2,000 (perhaps as many as 2,700) East German soldiers deserted in the first days of the building of the Wall;
• A minimum of 753 persons were killed trying to escape after the Wall was erected (as well as 25 East German border patrol guards);
• At least 33,755 East German were ransomed to the West at a total cost of at least 3.5 billion German Marks;
• The first German astronaut, Reinhard Furrer, escaped East Berlin as a child through a tunnel under the Wall.

Today visitors to Berlin often have to work hard to find evidence of the Wall. Most poignant is the spot where Peter Fehrer, who was shot trying to escape East Berlin in 1963, bled to death in agony while both sides looked on. It was just a block from Checkpoint Charlie and is now a chic residential area with no evidence of its past history.

[Forest Gamble · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good primer on the Berlin Wall and it's complex history. The book was short without being to reductionist.

[Elisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty cut-and-dried, bare bones account of the Wall coming up and going down. The narration is rather forgettable and undramatic but still not journalistic enough.
This little book might be useful as a quick reference guide. It includes interesting pictures, but its paperback-size doesn't really allow them the full appreciation they deserve.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly detached and impersonal recount of the lifespan of the wall and its sociopolitical implications. In some respects this book provides a good grounding knowledge for further reading about the period, but other times I felt there was an assumption of the reader's knowledge regarding politics and such. Also contains lots of cool photographs.

[Ignacio Sanvicens Zilles · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice insight into the Berlin Wall and its societal impact. It doesn't go too in depth into anything, simply a summary!