An East German soldier helping a boy cross the newly formed ‘Berlin Wall,’ 1961.
From what is known, the photograph was taken the day the emerging Wall was put up in August 1961 and the boy was found on the opposite side of the wall from his family. Despite given orders by the East German government to let no one pass, the soldier helped the boy through the barbwire. Near the exact time this photo was taken, it was said that the soldier was seen by his superior officer who immediately detached the soldier from his unit.
Concerning the fate of the soldier, most descriptions that come with photograph say that “no one knows what became of him.”