The Brandenburg Gate, photographed from the west side, shows pronounced war damage in August/September 1955: the columns and entablature are heavily soot-blackened and damaged, and a flag waves on the attic structure. Clearly legible in the center of the image is the sector sign bearing the inscription “Beginning of the Democratic Sector of Greater Berlin” – an unmistakable sign of German division. The view through the gate reveals destroyed and partially rebuilt buildings in the eastern part of the city. In 1955, the Brandenburg Gate functioned as the most visible junction between the western and Soviet-controlled sectors of Berlin and was simultaneously a symbol of the city’s division during the Cold War. The nearly deserted scene and the sector sign illustrate the controlled but still passable crossing between the sectors, which was not completely blocked until 1961 with the construction of the Wall.