THE HALL smells of fresh paint but the clock on the back wall is an East German original.
With its sloped roof and bright blue exterior, the structure built in 1962 beside the Friedrichstrasse train station was known officially as the Customs Clearing Building. But for the 10 million who passed here annually between East and West Germany until 1989, it was the Tränenpalast – the palace of tears. Tears of joy at being reunited, tears of pain at parting.
Opening a new exhibition in the renovated hall yesterday evening, Chancellor Angela Merkel recalled her annual trips here with her grandmother, who lived in West Germany. “Year for year, she got older and there was the fear, you asked yourself: ‘Will you see her again next year?’” remembered the German leader. “It was very, very sad.”
The Border Experiences exhibition shows over 500 original objects from the former clearing hall, such as border guard cabins, uniforms, passports and other documents. Beyond that, it tells the story of the day-to-day confrontations with the border and the humiliation, harassment and bullying at the hands of guards.
Their methods ranged from thorough luggage checks – confiscating anything from alcohol to forbidden publications – to endless, probing questions.
“Many, in particular older East Germans with limited visas to visit West Germany, couldn’t stand the psychological and physical pressure,” said Dr Jürgen Reiche, exhibition director. “Between 1961 and 1989, over 200 people died at this border crossing.”
Unlike many other crossings for military or foreigners, like Checkpoint Charlie, the Tränenpalast was the crossing point for Germans and remains a microcosm of the country’s division. One in four West Germans had relatives in the east; in the smaller East Germany, every second family had western relations.
Through underground tunnels, western visitors arriving by train were funnelled into the clearance building and then out again into East Berlin. “It was such a trek from the train to here, there were no escalators or lifts, no luggage trolleys and long queues at the passport controls,” remembered author Monika Maron. “On top of that was the fear of your little bit of contraband – books or cassettes for the grandchildren – being discovered. You only just made it beyond the door out.”
As well as tearful farewells, the blue hall was one of Berlin’s leading locations for cold war espionage. The exhibition details discreet exchanges of information and material between East German spies and their handlers.
Remembered primarily as a palace of intimidation, the hall was also a popular protest site, where East Germans demonstrated for the right to leave the country legally to go west. The exhibition shows banners reading “We want freedom” and “I’ve had enough, I want to go to West Berlin.” After 1989, the building was converted into a cabaret and concert hall and has stood empty for five years. A listed building, it was renovated to house the new exhibition.
Taking a quick tour of the former customs hall, now bright and cheery, Dr Merkel said her memory of the building was “far more sinister”.
“It was unbelievable how they managed to intimidate people with an atmosphere of fear,” she said. “They gave everyone the feeling going in that perhaps something wasn’t right and one heard stories: of people sitting for a long time or endless unpacking of suitcases.” To lift the mood, she noted that “the windows were never so clean in eastern times”.
The Tränenpalast is open from today and entry is free.