The ''Tränenpalast'' () is a former border crossing point between East and West Berlin, at Berlin Friedrichstraße station, which was in operation between 1962 and 1989. It is now a museum with exhibitions about

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

period and about the process of

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

. It was the border crossing for travelers on the

S-Bahn The S-Bahn ( , ), , is a hybrid urban rail, urban–suburban rail system serving a metropolitan region predominantly in German language, German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit syst ...

U-Bahn Rapid transit in Germany consists of four systems and 14 systems. The , commonly understood to stand for ('underground railway'), are conventional rapid transit systems that run mostly underground, while the or ('city rapid railway') are c ...

and trains going between East and West Germany. It was used only for westbound border crossings. It had separate checkpoints for West Berliners, West Germans, foreigners, diplomats, transit travelers and East Germans. The term ''Tränenpalast'' is derived from the tearful partings that took place in front of the building between western visitors and East German residents who were not permitted to travel to West Berlin.

Border station during the time of the Berlin Wall

Although Berlin Friedrichstraße station was located entirely in

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

, because of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

some S-Bahn and U-Bahn lines were accessible only from

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

. Travelers in West Berlin could use the station to transfer between those lines, or to cross into

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. The ''Tränenpalast'' was built after the volume of traffic and the constraints of the lower level of the main building made it necessary to expand.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall

After the

fall of the Berlin Wall The fall of the Berlin Wall (, ) on 9 November in German history, 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, marked the beginning of the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain, as East Berlin transit restrictions we ...

, the building was used as a nightclub and stage until 2006.Tränenpalast website
Retrieved 17 January 2019 It was listed as a protected historic monument on 2 October 1990 by the GDR government, a day before German reunification, which was on 3 October 1990.

Museum

In 2008 the ''Tränenpalast'' became a federal memorial site. On 15 September 2011, the Haus der Geschichte opened the museum with exhibitions about Berlin during the Cold War. It displays original artefacts, documents, photographs and audio-visual material about the checkpoint and it provides an overview of the German reunification process.''Tränenpalast: From Border Crossing to Museum''.
In
Sites of Unity
( Haus der Geschichte), 2022. It was opened by German Chancellor Angela Merkel on 14 September 2011. In its first two weeks more than 30,000 people visited the museum. Entrance is free.

Gallery

During the Cold War

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-A0706-0010-001, Berlin, Bahnhof Friedrichstraße, Glashalle, Eingang.jpg, Entrance to the Tränenpalast.

During the Fall of the Berlin Wall

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1990-0403-311, Berlin, Bahnhof Friedrichstraße, Grenzkontrolle.jpg, Custom checks by East German officers on those exiting East Berlin File:Stempel Grenzabfertigung Berlin Bahnhof Friedrichstrasse im westdeutschen Reisepass.jpg, Passport stamp of the border crossing ''Friedrichstrasse''.

Post German Reunification

File:Berlin Traenenpalast 2008-04-24.jpg, Construction near the ''Tränenpalast'' in 2008.

References

External links

Tränenpalast Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tranenpalast Buildings and structures in Berlin Berlin Wall Berlin border crossings Allied occupation of Germany Museums in Berlin Cold War museums in Germany Buildings and structures in Mitte