Reflections

BY VINCENT CHIARELLO

Checkpoint Charlie in 1979.
Courtesy of Vincent Chiarello

As a newly posted Foreign Service officer, reading the “Job Description” gave me a good idea what my work would entail. However, my assignment to Madrid did not follow the usual pattern: Circumstances changed, and as a result, the ensuing four years would prove to be most memorable.

Upon arrival in Madrid in summer 1978, I was informed that a major “Country Plan” objective was to persuade the post-Franco government of the need to combat communism by joining NATO.

Given the public’s skepticism, one way to accomplish that goal was to introduce influential representatives of the media to what came to be known as NATO tours. With the help of embassy personnel, I was to organize those tours.

I contacted the relevant office at NATO in Mons, Belgium, and, with its assistance, civilian and military briefings in various parts of Europe were organized. NATO headquarters would be our first stop, and I requested that, if possible, an appearance by U.S. General Alexander Haig, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, would be greatly appreciated. I was told that was unlikely.

Upon our arrival in Mons, the Spanish journalists and I received a briefing regarding the dimensions of the then Soviet threat. During the meeting, General Haig’s aide-de-camp informed me the general might be able to greet the group but would leave shortly thereafter.

General Haig arrived and began to discuss the NATO situation; after 10 minutes, the aide appeared and whispered to him. The general waved him off. The same scenario took place again after 20 minutes.

Finally, after more than 30 minutes, General Haig stated he had to leave, and as he bid farewell, one of the Spanish journalists came up and told him: “If Spain joins NATO, I wish to serve under your command.”

The following year our journalist group was scheduled to attend briefings in West Berlin, and that NATO tour would also include a visit to East Berlin. When a reporter from an influential Spanish daily informed me that he would not be accompanying us, I asked why.

He said that he had supported the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War, and the Stasi, or East German security apparatus, kept a file on him: “They have a long memory and keep very good records.”

Prior to our departure, I had received a telegram from the State Department informing me that “under NO (rpt.) NO circumstances” was I to surrender my diplomatic passport to East German officials.

Just prior to my departure from Madrid in the spring of 1982, the Spanish Parliament approved membership in NATO.

Checkpoint Charlie was located in an isolated part of Berlin, with little to no traffic in the area. When we crossed over into the Soviet-controlled area, we were met by a “vopo,” or East German police officer. He saluted and approached the passenger’s side of the vehicle where I sat with the window closed.

Bending forward, the vopo waved his hand, and at that, I placed my diplomatic passport against the closed window. He saluted and repeated the waving request. I opened my passport showing my photo and pressed it once again against the closed window. At no time did the vopo ever touch the passport. He then waved us on.

Incidentally, for those who have seen the 1965 movie “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold,” Checkpoint Charlie bore no resemblance to the movie version (see photo). The vehicle carrying us into East Berlin could not proceed with any speed through the checkpoint because of the hard angle turns. At the other end of the checkpoint, the scenario was duplicated. We were met by an East German official and observed a military parade that was going back to West Berlin.

When I returned to a unified Germany 25 years after that working tour to East Berlin, Checkpoint Charlie had become a magnet for tourists, including a museum, and the surrounding parts of the city had been gentrified.

Just prior to my departure from Madrid in the spring of 1982, the Spanish Parliament approved membership in NATO. I like to think those “tours” played some role in the decision.

Indeed, that NATO tours are still going on today suggests their effectiveness at giving journalists from across Europe an insider’s look at Alliance operations—despite the monumental changes of recent decades.

Vincent Chiarello taught high school history before joining the Foreign Service in 1970. He served overseas in Colombia, Guatemala, Spain, Norway, Italy, and at The Holy See. Now retired, he lives in Northern Virginia.