U.S. and Soviet tanks faced each other at Checkpoint Charlie on 27 October 1961.
The confrontation followed a dispute over whether American officials needed to show identification when entering East Berlin. U.S. forces rejected the East German demand, because the United States did not recognize East Germany as having authority over the Allied access routes into Berlin.
American and Soviet tanks moved to positions near the crossing, creating one of the most dangerous moments of the Berlin Crisis. The standoff lasted for several hours and ended when both sides gradually withdrew their vehicles. No shots were fired.
Checkpoint Charlie stood at Friedrichstraße and was the main crossing for foreigners and Allied personnel. Its name came from “Charlie,” the third letter of the NATO phonetic alphabet.