Berlin, 1950

People living their lives in postwar Berlin. By Nina Leen. 

None of these photographs come with additional captions, unfortunately. From the LIFE archives. 

[note: I just (November 22 2012) discovered the online LIFE archives did something that changed and broke all the linked URLs; I will fix this at some point, but the original sources can be found by going through this set of related images in the archives ]

Nina Leen, LIFE © Time Inc.

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Nina Leen, LIFE © Time Inc.

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Nina Leen, LIFE © Time Inc.

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Passover in Berlin, 1946

Sometimes context makes all the difference. These photographs show Passover at home and at the synagogue-- in Berlin, 1946. 

(note: the captions incorrectly say 1945; this of course can't be accurate because the war hadn't ended yet. Fortunately one of the photographs below includes a list of dates, confirming 1946). 

Passover seder at home. Source

A man named Gunther Ruschin holds a book of questions and answers about the Exodus. His concentration camp tattoo is visible on his arm. Source

Tasting of bitter herbs during the Passover seder. Source

A girl asks her elders ritual questions during the Passover seder. Source

The exterior of a Berlin synagogue. Source

A woman and her child read the blackboard outside the synagogue. (includes the string of dates, April 1946). Source

People praying at the synagogue during Passover. Source

Men of the congregation, all Holocaust survivors. Source

Torah scrolls being read to the congregation. Source

Three leading representatives of the Berlin Jewish community. Source

Chief Cantor Ruschin holding Torah scrolls to the congregation. Source

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Gunter Ruschin-- partially seen above holding a book-- at the synagogue. Source

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The Newly Constructed Berlin Wall

Striking photographs from the first year of the Berlin Wall (1961). By LIFE photographer Paul Schutzer. 

A little bird on the barbed wire topping the wall. Source

West Berliners wave to their relatives on the East German side of the wall. Source

An American tank aimed at an East German tank across the Wall. Source

A view through the barbed wire. Source

A West German woman looking across the Wall. Source

West Germans look across the Wall. Source

Children play soccer/football beside the Wall. Source

A West German shows his child the other side of the Wall. Source

A West German girl plays with a ball beside the Wall. Source

And another West German girl regards the Wall outside her home's window. Source

A West German couple looks across the Wall. Source

A West German woman regards the Wall. Source

Peering across the Wall. Source

An East German policeman tries to stop Western photographers by shining mirrors in the the lens. Source

A little boy cleans his shoe against the Wall. Source

Sparrows on the wire. Source

An East German guard throws a West German child's ball back over the wall. Source

Looking through the window across the Wall. Source

A little West Berlin girl tries to open a door that is now part of the Wall. Source

A hand reaching over the glass embedded in the top of the Wall. Source