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When the Berlin Wall was built on August 13, 1961, it divided the city as well as the transportation system. But two subway (U-Bahn) lines and one commuter rail (S-Bahn) line with departure and destination
stations in West Berlin continued to run through the eastern sector.
stations in West Berlin continued to run through the eastern sector.
Image gallery
Ausstellung S-Bahnhof Norbahnhof
Ausstellung Zwischengeschoss S-Bahnhof Norbahnhof
Ausstellung Zwischengeschoss S-Bahnhof Norbahnhof
Ausstellung Zwischengeschoss S-Bahnhof Norbahnhof
The trains would slow down, but they did not stop at these deserted stations in East Berlin. Blocked off and patrolled by GDR armed
guards, they became known as “ghost stations.” The Friedrichstrasse station with its border checkpoint was the one exception. In East Berlin the stations along the western lines disappeared almost
completely from view.
Subway and S-Bahn signswere disman tled; entrances were walled up. Over the years an under ground system of barricades was erected, but people still tried to flee through the train tunnels. Only a few succeeded. After the Wall fell, the
under ground obstacles were removed and the trans portation systems were merged again.
The multimedia exhibition on the mezzanine level of the former Nordbahnhof “ghost station”
describes this aspect of Berlin’s division by showing a number of exam ples of attempted escapes. Evidence of the barrier that once blocked off the station has been integrated into the exhibition.
“Border Stations and Ghost Stations in Divided Berlin” can be viewed during the S-Bahn’s hours of operation. It is the first part of the permanent exhi bition that will be presented in its entirety on the out door grounds of the Berlin Wall Memorial by 2012. The memorial is gradually becoming the central memorial site commemorating the division of Germany and the Berlin Wall.
