The photograph shows two directional signs on a street at the edge of Berlin: a German road sign pointing toward the Autobahn in the direction of Helmstedt (172 km), beside which an English-language sign directs toward “Check Point Baker”. Helmstedt was the West German border crossing to the Soviet Occupation Zone, so this pair of signs marks the only land route between West Berlin and the Federal Republic. Check Point Baker was one of the Allied control points on the inter-zonal route, where travelers entered the Soviet-controlled zone. The signs embody the geopolitical isolation of West Berlin during the Cold War: the city was surrounded by Soviet-occupied territory, and every land journey to the West necessarily passed through East Germany. The juxtaposition of German kilometer marker and English military sign illustrates Allied presence and shared control over the access routes to the encircled city.