The photograph shows the main gate of the US headquarters in Berlin, photographed in August/September 1955. Between two massive gatehouse buildings in neoclassical style, a white iron gate opens, through which a VW van passes; a uniformed guard stands beside the entrance. In the background, the symmetrically arranged main building is visible, above which the flag of the United States flies. The carefully maintained grounds surrounded by trees convey institutional order and permanence. The motif exemplifies the Allied presence in post-war West Berlin: the US forces were not only a military protective power but also a visible symbol of the Western claim to the divided city during the Cold War.