Checkpoint Charlie was the most famous border crossing between East and West Berlin during the Cold War. This was the place where American and Soviet tanks faced each other in a standoff in October 1961. This was also the place where numerous people escaped and yet others never made it past the white border line. For example, on 17 August 1962, Peter Fechter bled to death on the death strip between East and West.

The Wall Museum – Museum at Checkpoint Charlie (Mauermuseum - Museum Haus am Checkpoint Charlie) was founded by Rainer Hildebrandt in 1962. It documents the events that took place in this area as well as the history of the divided city, the construction of the Wall and the international, non-violent struggle for human rights.

The exhibition uses photographs to illustrate how the GDR border control system was progressively constructed and perfected. Numerous original artefacts also document the kinds of ideas people came up with in an attempt to surmount the Wall. On display are converted cars, a mini submarine was used to escape across the Baltic Sea, hot air balloons and a homemade motorised hang glider.