1967 Press Photo Tourists & East Berliners wait for guard changing at Wachthaus

East Germans--and tourists who happen to get past the Berlin Wall--are treated each day to a ceremony that looks like the German Army is still doing business under Hitler or the Kaiser. The familiar aspect is the famous goose step, an elongated stiff-legged stride used in parades and for ceremonial occasions. East German soldiers, when changing the guard each day at noon, still goose-step with the eclat of earlier times. Only one squad of German reds is used on guard duty in front of a building that used to be known as the Wachthaus, and was used as a garrison. Today, it's still a government structure, but East Germans won't say what it's used for. Tourists doubt if there's anything especially secret about the goings-on in the building, but saying nothing about official matters is too strong habit to break.

Photo is dated 1967.

Photo measures 10 x 8.25 inches.