The Young Chronicle: For 4th Graders November 14th, 2014 | Page 4

YOUNG CHRONICLE

November 14th, 2014
TRIVIA ABOUT THE BERLIN WALL

• There were a number of checkpoints that allowed passage
to and from the two sides of the wall. The most famous of
these was Checkpoint Charlie. Those allowed to use this
checkpoint included military from the Western Powers,
foreign tourists, and diplomats. The sign from Checkpoint
Charlie which reads 'You are leaving the American Sector'
in English, Russian, French and German (with German
being in tiny print at the bottom) still stands at the point,
together with a replica of a guard's hut and the sandbags
surrounding it. The actual Checkpoint Charlie was removed
on June 22nd, 1990.

Checkpoint Charlie, in 1961

• The west side of the Berlin wall was covered
in graffiti. The East side was not.

• West Berliners used the Berlin Wall as an
ideal way of getting rid of rubbish. If they had
anything that needed throwing away, they
threw it over the wall. After all, it wasn't as if
they would be made to go over it to fetch it
back!
• The methods people used to escape the Berlin
wall included digging a tunnel from a
graveyard, dodging the border guards,
running and climbing and even flying across in
a handmade air-balloon. The tunnel was
discovered by a woman who fell into a hole
and accidentally left her baby behind, whe re it
was found by guards at the mouth of the tunnel!

Checkpoint Charlie, Now
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• Many segments of the torn down
wall have been given to various
institutions around the world. They
can be found in presidential and
historical museums, lobbies of hotels
and corporations, at universities and
government buildings, and in public
spaces around the world.