The checkpoint was the nearest motorway border crossing point to the Helmstedt-Marienborn border crossing ("Checkpoint Alpha") on the border of West Germany, making it part of the shortest highway transit route between West Germany and West Berlin.
The checkpoint was shifted slightly during 1969 from Drewitz (part of Potsdam),[REF] after the East German authorities realigned the transit route to eliminate a brief re-entry into GDR territory before transit traffic could finally enter West Berlin.