Point Alpha border memorial and museums

Point Alpha border memorial/museums - darkometer rating : 5 - A double museum on the themes of the former border between the GDR (East Germany ) and the FRG (West Germany), on the one hand, and the Cold War and US military observation of the border, on the other. These are complemented by a stretch of border that has been preserved and/or reconstructed, with various fortifications and a watchtower. With its double focus on BOTH East and West it's one of the most significant sites in the category of border museums . > More background info > What there is to see > Location > Access and costs > Time required > Combinations with other dark destinations > Combinations with non-dark destinations > Photos More background info: Point Alpha was the code name given to the place/region by NATO – it was to indicate the location's importance during the Cold War East-West confrontation: it was here, at the point where the GDR border, i.e. that of the Eastern Bloc , bulged furthest into the West (dubbed the "Fulda Gap"), where the USA considered an attack by the Soviet Union /the Warsaw Pact most likely to begin. After the collapse of the latter it turned out that the USSR had in fact had other plans up its sleeve. Still, at this part of the border, the US military and their Warsaw Pact counterparts literally looked each other in the eye. There must have been a rather tense atmosphere here back then … For the USA this was thus a particularly sensitive place, so they had taken over monitoring and patrolling this part of the border themselves – rather than leaving it to the regular West German border police. At Point Alpha a special observation post, permanently manned by at least 40 US soldiers (which could be upped to 200 in times of crisis), was set up, complete with communications gear and some heavy armoured vehicles.