If you are at all interested in the background of Berlin's least favourite architectural addition, then the House of Checkpoint Charlie should be your first port of call. The museum, based on what was the Western side, was established in 1962 - a year after the wall went up. Apart from charting the wall's history the establishment aided many of those who managed to defect, giving them support and, in many cases, employment on the premises. As such it has exclusive access to many fascinating escape stories, and not just about the wall - it rather randomly houses Mahatma Gandhi's diary! The name Checkpoint Charlie comes from the most famous of the guarded checkpoints which acted as crossing between East and West.
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