The checkpoint Helmstedt-Marienborn in Lower Saxony was the largest and most important crossing point along the inner-German border. Because of its proximity to West Berlin, it handled the lion’s share of the through-traffic between West Germany and Berlin, and cars were often backed up. In the early 1970s, the GDR replaced the crossing depicted in this 1965 photograph with a larger and more effectively guarded border installation. Photographer unknown.