The Human Side

When the Berlin Wall was erected in 1961, many families were broken apart literally overnight.   The barbed wire temporary division separating the East and West was installed secretly by the German Democratic Republic on August 13th in the dark of night.  This temporary barrier was immediately enforced by armed guard until it could be replaced with something more permanent.

The Berlin Wall was actually two walls that ran parallel to each other, with a 160 yard "death strip" in the middle.  If someone was able to get over the first wall successfully, they were met with an obstacle course of  guard dogs, floodlights and trip-wire machine guns as well as 116 watchtowers full of guards with orders to shoot.   If a person was able to make it across the strip successfully, they were met with a second wall that stood at 12 feet tall and was lined with a smooth pipe that made it more difficult to scale.   Not surprisingly, more than 100 people died trying to cross the Berlin Wall.  

Incredibly, more than 5,000 successfully escaped across the Berlin Wall, either under it or over it and sometimes through it.  Escape plans were elaborate, with many hiding in the trunks of cars passing into the West, crawling through sewers and even building contraptions to fly over the Wall.

The more common and legal way to cross from East to West, however, was with permission to pass through one of the designated crossings.  The Palace of Tears was the departure hall connected to the Berlin Friedrichstraße station which connected travellers in the East and West.  Although the Station was entirely in the Eastern side, some of the S-Bahn and U-Bahn lines were only available from West Berlin.  This allowed permitted West Berliners to travel into the Eastern section to visit relatives.  

Only West Berliners were allowed passage between the East-West border.  East Berliners were not allowed to leave.  As such, the Palace of Tears was where family members from the East and West would say their final goodbyes before travelling home to their respective sides of the city. 

The goodbye area before the customs cubicles

Although it was legal, travelling from the West into the East and back again must have been terrifying.  Westerners were thoroughly checked when entering and leaving East Berlin.  Everything they had with them was documented - clothing, jewellery, bags and all their contents - to ensure that nothing was left and nothing was taken.  

In addition, the customs process was intense - after they had their luggage thoroughly searched, Westerners walked into a small cubicle where the entry door and exit door were both locked until the customs officer completed his interrogation. The West Berliner was surrounded by mirrors so the customs officer, seated on a raised platform, could see all sides of them.  They were then questioned extensively until the customs officer was comfortable to let them pass.

  

The complex design of the train stationThe train station itself was also designed to confuse, with train departure tracks frequently being switched at the last moment and hallways being strategically shut down to cause discomfort.

The erection of the Wall, however, highlighted the power of family.  Whether it was the erection of makeshift platforms so people on the East and West could see each other as often as possible or taking these intimidating trips across a hostile border to visit each other, the Wall demonstrated that a family's love can survive almost anything.