Berlin Wall Memorial Opened By Angela Merkel To Commemorate Germany's Cold War Past

BERLIN -- Chancellor Angela Merkel has opened a permanent exhibition on Germany's Cold War past at what was once one of East Berlin's busiest border crossings.

The exhibition is housed in the restored 1960s building where passport and customs checks were carried out at Berlin's Friedrichstrasse station. It was popularly known as the "Traenenpalast," or "Palace of Tears."

Merkel grew up in communist East Germany but had western relatives. News agency dapd reported that she recalled Wednesday the atmosphere of intimidation at the border.

Merkel said: "I was here very often with my parents and we saw my grandmother off year after year."

The exhibition includes items such as photos and a cubicle used for border checks. It aims to illustrate everyday experiences at the border.

Comments

[bengfrorer]

07:37 AM on 09/15/2011

Germany needs to honor those that served their country during WW2. I am not talking about the holocaust, soldiers who serve thier coutry should always be given respect whether you agree with their government or not. Many soldiers served honorably in the german military during ww2 and have never been honored. This generation won't be around for much longer and these people have been pushed aside because the german government wants to forget it ever happened. Many wars the U.S. has fought shouldnt have happened, but those troops should be honored no matter what.

[SvenH]

09:50 PM on 09/14/2011

Some of my relatives made it through. My parents wanted to break out shortly before the wall fell, but ended up not doing it. I was just a few years old and the question wasn't "Are they gonna shoot at us?" The question was how are you gonna survive it...