An East German soldier helps a young boy cross the newly erected 'Berlin Wall' in August, 1961. Sources state that this photograph was taken on or near the day the barricade was put up, with the child finding himself on the opposite side of the wall as his family. Despite explicit orders by the East German government to let no one pass, the soldier helped the boy through the barbed wire.

The look of apprehension on the serviceman's face was well founded; it was said that he was seen by his superior officer, who immediately detached the soldier from his unit. Regarding the ultimate fate of the soldier, there is no knowledge of what became of him.