Cold War Berlin

Experience the standoff at Checkpoint Charlie in 1961 with the Berlin Wall Foundation & Augmented Reality app.

About the Cold War Berlin App:
In October 1961, a few months after the Wall was built, U.S. and Soviet tanks engaged in a standoff at the Allied Checkpoint Charlie and the GDR’s Friedrichstrasse border crossing. Pictures of tanks in the middle of divided Berlin were seen around the world and are still remembered today. But what actually happened? What led up to this threatening situation and how was the conflict resolved?
“Cold War Berlin” makes it possible to experience the history of the tank confrontation at Checkpoint Charlie in Augmented Reality (AR): Use your smartphone or tablet to bring Checkpoint Charlie into your home in 3D. Explore the situation at the intersection of Friedrichstrasse/Zimmerstrasse from the time of the Wall’s construction to the tank confrontation and view the events from different perspectives. Immerse yourself in the history of the Cold War in Berlin!

Features of the Cold War Berlin App:
- True-to-scale 3D model of the intersection at Friedrichstrasse/Zimmerstrasse
- Animated 3D models visualizing the events of October 1961
- Augmented Reality Tour: Relive the events of October 22-28, 1961 as a cohesive story in AR!
- The events in individual scenes: Explore the day-by-day events of the tank confrontation in AR!
- Historical photos, films, and radio broadcasts as Points of Interest (PoI) in the 3D model: You can follow a West Berlin radio reporter’s live coverage of the U.S. tanks arriving.
- Two perspectives: The birds-eye view gives you an overview of the situation at the
Friedrichstrasse border crossing. The first-person perspective puts you at eye level with the events and brings you up close to the history.
- Languages: German and English

Use in the Classroom:
“Cold War Berlin” is very well-suited for use in the classroom. Students can work in small groups on the individual scenes of the tank confrontation at Checkpoint Charlie.
The events of the tank confrontation were researched in detail using historical sources from both the East and the West. The 3D-modeled scenes were created using information based on this research.
The integrated historical photos, films, and radio broadcasts show how the events were interpreted and portrayed differently in the East and West. The AR thus creates an innovative learning environment that conveys the events from different perspectives and facilitates a critical examination of one of the Cold War’s most iconic moments. It reveals both the role of the media in political events as well as the construction of historical images.

Data Privacy: “Cold War Berlin” does not collect, save or pass on any personal data. More information is available under the menu item “Data Privacy.”

Supported Devices: The app is designed for the use of Augmented Reality (AR) and requires ARCore / ARKit capable devices. Performance quality also depends on memory storage and processor capacity.