Marienborn Memorial of the German Division

Memorial German division MarienbornOn July 1, 1945, the four victorious powers on the highway Berlin -Hannover established the Allied checkpoint Marienborn-Helmstedt. Here was the demarcation line between the British and Soviet occupation zones. After the split Germany took over the GDR in 1950 the command of the border crossing point (GÜSt) Marienborn. Since the traffic on the transit route between the Federal Republic and West Berlin grew steadily, a new border crossing point was built in the early 1970s. Until the suspension of border controls on 1 July 1990, it was the largest and most important on the inner German border. On the only still largely preserved parts of their kind, the check-in areas for the arriving in the GDR cars and trucks, the customs area and the commanders' tower of the border troops can be visited.

The memorial is a must see. Luckily I never had to come through here while the border was in operation. The system of border controls is explained and presented in a very interesting and detailed way, as well as protocols and eyewitness reports.