For 28 years, crossing the Berlin Wall meant checkpoints, paperwork and the forced exchange of money – and for West Berliners, years when the gates were shut entirely. How the border crossings worked, the Passierscheinabkommen day-pass agreements, the Palace of Tears, and how to visit the crossing sites today.

East Germany’s Ministry for State Security ran the densest surveillance network in history – 91,000 officers, 170,000 informants, files on six million people. How the Stasi worked, how it fell, and how to visit the Stasi Museum and Hohenschoenhausen prison today.

On 15 August 1961, a 19-year-old East German guard leapt over the barbed wire on Bernauer Strasse. The photo became the Cold War’s most famous image. Here is the full story – and where to stand on the exact spot today.

For 11 months Allied planes landed in Berlin every 90 seconds, defeating the Soviet blockade. The Berlin Airlift story, and where to find its traces at Tempelhof today.

Three Cold War spy exchanges made the Glienicke Bridge between Berlin and Potsdam famous, inspiring Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies. The real story, plus visiting tips.

Berlin’s ghost stations: for 28 years, Western trains rolled through sealed, guarded platforms in the East without stopping. See all 15 and visit them today.

Over 5,000 people escaped across the Berlin Wall using tunnels, hot air balloons, vehicles, and sheer ingenuity. These are their stories.

What was life like in divided Berlin? A comparison of daily life in East and West Berlin – economy, culture, media, and personal freedom.