US busses stopped by East Berlin officers

Three busses with members of the US Army passing the checkpoint on Friedrichstra§e in Berlin on 24th August 1961. The busses were held on by East Berlin border officials for more than two hours at their reutrn after a city tour through East Berlin. A heavy Patton tank of the US Army standing on Wilhelmstra§e in West Berlin at the border to the eastern part of the city, on 23rd August 1961. In the background the Berlin Wall and the 'Haus der Ministerien' (house of ministries), the former Reich aeronautic ministry, at the corner of Wilhelm and Leipziger Stra§e. From 13th August 1961, the day of the building of the wall, until the fall of Berlin Wall on 9th November 1989 the Federal Republic of Germany and the GDR were split by the 'iron curtain' between west and east.