The R.T.O. in Berlin Lichterfelde

RTO stands for the Railway Transportation Office at the U.S. military train station in Berlin. This station disappeared nearly complete in 2008. Only a fragment of the platform is still standing. I don't know, why it is still there. 


From here started the Berlin duty train to West Germany for more than four decades on any single day. When I made this picture, I thought that this platform part must be kept as a memorial. Because this duty train and the rail corridor were worldwide unique. A rolling piece of the U.S. territory passed through the Soviet controlled part of Germany. Some minutes later I waited for a S-Bahn train some meters away. Some teenagers stood here too. 


I asked myself,  how could I explain these kids what was going on over there. Many guys of my generation don't understand all this stuff. So I changed my mind about a memorial. Because anyone who is interested in history knows about this place and about all the others who are not interested I don't care anymore. 

Cheers from Berlin  !

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