Brandenburg Gate Berlin 1958. The photo shows the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin in the year 1958, a symbol of division and the growing tensions between East and West.
Scene: The famous gate is still freely accessible, but the political border between East and West Berlin already runs near it.
Cold War tensions: Following the Soviet Union’s Berlin Ultimatum (1958), the border between the two halves of the city was more strictly controlled – a precursor to the construction of the Wall in 1961.
Military presence: DDR People’s Police officers or allied soldiers may possibly be seen in the vicinity.
The photo captures a historical moment before the definitive division of Berlin – the Brandenburg Gate would soon become the central symbol of the Iron Curtain.