The Berlin wall

A group of children go about their afternoon in 1962 Berlin, seemingly unaware of the enormous concrete barrier stretching behind them. Captured by French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, this scene shows a little girl balancing on a scooter beside the wall, two kids sharing a warm hug, and a boy reaching out with his hand mid-motion. The Berlin Wall was only recently built here, its top freshly lined with barbed wire, and it would come to symbolize a city split in two and families kept apart. For these children, though, it is simply the edge of their playground.

Cartier-Bresson built his reputation on what he called the "decisive moment," the split second when all the pieces of a scene fall into place. He preferred to observe rather than pose his subjects, patiently waiting for real life to compose itself in front of his lens. This picture shows exactly why that approach worked so well for him. The clash between carefree play and the tense political backdrop gives the image a quiet strength.

Children have a way of adapting to whatever world they are handed, even one carved up by a wall meant to divide. Rather than pointing fingers or turning up the drama, Cartier-Bresson just lets the moment speak, trusting us to sense the strange mix of tenderness and history packed into a single ordinary day.