Former DDR control point at Berlin - Friedrichstrasse.

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This is my personal recollection of the DDR control point at Berlin - Friedrichstrasse and my attempt to find it from memory.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• DDR
• Berlin
• East
• Friedrichstrasse
• Alan Heath

[telekino5]

No wonder you had difficulties to orientate in the former border station Friedrichstrasse. The whole station has been compleately renovated.

Here is a Youtube-Video, which features the Train station in 1991 before it was renovated, so you might remember how the border crossing Friedrichstraße once looked like, starting at 1:52.

watch?v=nsT0H4PDpDc

(just copy it into your browser behind the usual first part of any Youtube-link).

[alanheath]

@telekino5 Thank you. I had a look at your film. I am curious to see the crossing point - which I can recall very clearly but have never seen any photographs or films of. The shooting galleries at the railway station were still in place when I was there in 2008.

[alanheath]

@telekino5 I am very interested in the former DDR border - I have put lots of films here. I was in Berlin various times in the 1980s, I was detained in East Berlin in October 1982 after being kicked out of Poland. I had a fascination that later as a student I had a map of Berlin on my wall.

I really regret not having a photographic record of the time!

[thd95ch]

i crossed at Friedrichstrasse station from the s-bahn in Aug., 1989. they detained me for 15 minutes because I did not match my passport picture exactly. my wife was not amused. she was already on the other side of the barrier! when i returned in 1994 i tried but could not retrace my steps. All had changed in the station.

Thanks for the memories!

[alanheath]

@thd95ch Great story - thanks very much.

[ruhrpotttyp]

when i was in berlin (i come from west germany), i saw a lot of americans and not the silly yanks who only heard about nazi-germany.the americans who make holidays in germany are very friendly and not stupid and want learn about germany and the history

greetings =)

[ryder858585]

nice vid

[telekino5]

@alanheath For a few weeks now in the former border control building "Tränenpalast" (palace of tears = i.e. thats the building were familiy members had to say good bye to their relatives from the west, who visited them) a permanent exhibition has been opened presenting the former border control train station with lost of details including a detailled mock-up of the station which I did film and put it on youtube under the following Link:

watch?v=S2vnzB07Q84

[TramFahrerGTASAMP]

wow...you have learn what over berlin ;)

BLN4EVER YaY

\o/ || /\

[refotografie]

Everything has changed a lot - fortunately!

[alanheath2]

@minipo48 What a difference. As you can see I had difficulties in finding things - in some places it is difficult to see where the wall was. In the 1980s I always found Potsdamer Platz interesting - then a space of nothingness on the border with observation platforms from the west.

[minipo48]

i will visit Berlin after 27 yrs so i will not know it!!!i went through this checkpoint 8 times from the 60s onwards horrid it was too.It now looks amazing cant wait to see it and all the changes!!!Love Berlin.