What really struck me was how relaxed both the Vopos and their counterparts seemed to be; compared to even a few weeks earlier. It was obvious, looking back on it, that Germany was already starting to reunify......
@@piercehawke8021 Yes, but in the footage there are no East German policemen. East German policemen "Volkspolizei" wore baby blue jackets. There are none of those on the film.
I drove semi trucks for AAFES back then. We'd cross checkpoints Alpha and Bravo 4 times a day and swap trailers in that rest area at the east/west border on the Alpha side. Thanks for sharing this!
I'm wondering Why weren't you using Herleshausen Wartha border crossing since it's shorter to reach Ramstein Air Base and Wiesbaden Barracks. Rudolfstein A9 Grafenwöhr
@@nlpnt Ok then and for the distance between West Berlin and the AAFES Germersheim/Ramstein facility is it quicker to use Helmstedt Marienborn A2 British sector or A4 Herleshausen Wartha. The latter one puts you directly in the US zone with the Gerstungen A4 exit closed. Oddly for the AAFES driver here the Herleshausen Wartha will allow his or her to call US MPs since the SOXMIS uses it to go to Frankfurt am main
0:06 Polish Fiat 126P and probably Porsche 924 - what a big hole was and still is dividing those cars. That's the perfect picture of east-west differences.
If you are referring to the part showing the bridge saying "Leaving the American Sector", this is the part of the Transit Corridor from West Berlin through East Germany back to West Germany. The traffic is most likely those people from West Germany headed home, and this is one of only two or three ways they were allowed to go.
I have a co-worker here in Detroit who recently told me that this is what the border with Canada is like these days. He said it used to be really easy to get across but after 9/11 it's more like crossing the West/East German border was when he was there in the 80s
I live about 70 miles south of the "Gate which will never close", the border crossing on Interstate 5 between Seattle and Vancouver, BC, and the last time we where there, the Canadian's required you to fill out a web page letting them know in advance where you were going, and how long you would be there before you could enter. We were there on a whim, so they turned us around, in their polite, Canadian way. OUR guys (USA) on the other hand, were not so polite to us obvious United States citizens who had just gotten turned back. We should have told them we were Mexican citizens who just stole a car and loaded it with Fentenal, and we would have probably been waved on through, no other questions asked... Canada has since dropped that requirement, but I'm told it's still kind of a hassle to go there.
The East-West German border was pretty easy for us military folks, as long as we had our paperwork in order. After we cleared out processing facility, we had to pay a visit to our Russian "allies" at the crossing points, not the East Germans.
I bet that whole interchange smelled like a bunch of weed trimmers and chainsaws running, with all the Trabants and Wartburgs belching filthy 2-cycle smoke. A VW beetle must've been like a Cadillac in comparison.
Those were the days. West Berlin streets smelled unusually of 2 stroke fuel and were filled with crowds of badly dressed people who spoke German with a funny accent. And East German guards at the border crossings suddenly treated West German travellers like normal civilians instead of like a serious threat to their country's sovereignty.
Nice Video with the Good Old German Cars Ford Mercedes BMW and Opel.
What really struck me was how relaxed both the Vopos and their counterparts seemed to be; compared to even a few weeks earlier. It was obvious, looking back on it, that Germany was already starting to reunify......
There were no "Vopos" in the footage.
@@mikethespike7579 then what were the E German cops in question referred to by name
@@piercehawke8021 Yes, but in the footage there are no East German policemen. East German policemen "Volkspolizei" wore baby blue jackets. There are none of those on the film.
I drove semi trucks for AAFES back then. We'd cross checkpoints Alpha and Bravo 4 times a day and swap trailers in that rest area at the east/west border on the Alpha side. Thanks for sharing this!
I'm wondering Why weren't you using Herleshausen Wartha border crossing since it's shorter to reach Ramstein Air Base and Wiesbaden Barracks. Rudolfstein A9 Grafenwöhr
@@EpicThe112 Late with an answer for you but the corridor to Helmstedt was the only one the Western armies were allowed to use.
@@nlpnt Ok then and for the distance between West Berlin and the AAFES Germersheim/Ramstein facility is it quicker to use Helmstedt Marienborn A2 British sector or A4 Herleshausen Wartha. The latter one puts you directly in the US zone with the Gerstungen A4 exit closed. Oddly for the AAFES driver here the Herleshausen Wartha will allow his or her to call US MPs since the SOXMIS uses it to go to Frankfurt am main
1:28 I kinda liked the little blue Trabant with what looks like fog lights on it. I want one..
Me too! [no hashtag]
lada brakedown scene was so familiar to me
0:06 Polish Fiat 126P and probably Porsche 924 - what a big hole was and still is dividing those cars. That's the perfect picture of east-west differences.
Lot's of western cars entering East-Berlin, one could have guessed it would have been the other way around in that particiular timeframe.
If you are referring to the part showing the bridge saying "Leaving the American Sector", this is the part of the Transit Corridor from West Berlin through East Germany back to West Germany. The traffic is most likely those people from West Germany headed home, and this is one of only two or three ways they were allowed to go.
I have a co-worker here in Detroit who recently told me that this is what the border with Canada is like these days. He said it used to be really easy to get across but after 9/11 it's more like crossing the West/East German border was when he was there in the 80s
I live about 70 miles south of the "Gate which will never close", the border crossing on Interstate 5 between Seattle and Vancouver, BC, and the last time we where there, the Canadian's required you to fill out a web page letting them know in advance where you were going, and how long you would be there before you could enter. We were there on a whim, so they turned us around, in their polite, Canadian way. OUR guys (USA) on the other hand, were not so polite to us obvious United States citizens who had just gotten turned back. We should have told them we were Mexican citizens who just stole a car and loaded it with Fentenal, and we would have probably been waved on through, no other questions asked...
Canada has since dropped that requirement, but I'm told it's still kind of a hassle to go there.
The East-West German border was pretty easy for us military folks, as long as we had our paperwork in order. After we cleared out processing facility, we had to pay a visit to our Russian "allies" at the crossing points, not the East Germans.
Went through there a couple times, it was interesting to be sure
I bet that whole interchange smelled like a bunch of weed trimmers and chainsaws running, with all the Trabants and Wartburgs belching filthy 2-cycle smoke. A VW beetle must've been like a Cadillac in comparison.
Combined with the brown coal they used for power, Berlin had a unique smell, that's for sure. It was worst in foggy weather.
7:35 that was a very rare van.
RAF2203 .
♥️🇩🇪Opel manta, opel corsa A, opel rekord, opel ascona .....opel kadett......🇩🇪♥️♥️♥️ crossing the border free forever
I can smell the east-german cars and the leaded gasoline of the west-cars. ;(
Has that sign been on the bridge since 45?
Subscriber new from heaven..🇹🇷
Those were the days. West Berlin streets smelled unusually of 2 stroke fuel and were filled with crowds of badly dressed people who spoke German with a funny accent. And East German guards at the border crossings suddenly treated West German travellers like normal civilians instead of like a serious threat to their country's sovereignty.