Checkpoint Charlie Museum

The Checkpoint Charlie Museum is a private museum in Berlin. It is named after the famous crossing point on the Berlin Wall, and was created to document the so-called "best border security system in the world" . On display are the photos and related documents of successful escape attempts from East Germany, together with the escape apparatus: hot-air balloons, getaway cars, chairlifts, and a mini-U-Boat. The museum researches and maintains a list of deaths at the Berlin Wall. It is operated by the Arbeitsgemeinschaft 13. August , and the director is Alexandra Hildebrandt.

The Arbeitsgemeinschaft 13. August is an association named after the date the Berlin Wall was constructed. It was formed with the purpose to fight against human rights violations as a result of the wall, and to create solutions through activities such as press conferences, publishing, and exhibitions. The museum project began as an exhibition by founding director and human rights activist Rainer Hildebrandt. According to Hildebrandt: "The first exhibition opened on the 19 October 1962 in an apartment with only two and a half rooms in famous Bernauer Straße. The street was divided along its whole length; the buildings in the east had been vacated and their windows were bricked up. We suggested that tourists be thankful to those border guards who do not shoot to kill".

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