Todays Treat: September 17 Checkpoint Bravo Sold To Mystery Buyer

A mystery bidder has purchased a piece of history in the form of 'Checkpoint Bravo' - the once busy crossing points between East and West Berlin.
The site, in the south west in the city, is less famous than its central Berlin counterpart, Checkpoint Charlie but was snapped up by a sole bidder at auction.
The land, which includes a derelict bridge and a crumbling cafe covered in graffiti, sold for the minimum asking price of 45,000 euros (£37,600).

Checkpoint Bravo was built along a major motorway to inspect travellers between the Allied and Soviet sectors in the early 1950s.
It continued to be used to control movements from West Berlin into the Communist German Democratic Republic and from the East into the West.
The road was then re-routed and the checkpoint moved to a site a short distance away.
Millions of people travelled through Checkpoint Bravo, either West Germans travelling from West Berlin to the rest of West Germany through the GDR, or the lucky few East Germans given permission by the authorities to leave.

When this command post was originally built, cars would pull in and guards would search vehicles and belongings and check the papers before allowing entry or exit.
Vehicles going to West Berlin then drove about 500 metres before they were stopped and went through it all again before being able to enter the west American side of the city
Many also risked their lives trying to escape the communist country, hiding in the boots of cars or by more inventive means such as in hidden compartments in vehicles or hot air balloons.
Checkpoint Bravo fell into disrepair since 1989 when it shut down when the Berlin Wall fell. It was covered in graffiti, rusting, and had all of the windows broken out meanwhile Checkpoint Charlie has been turned into a museum.

Resource: dailymail.co.uk