Friedrichstraße & Tränenpalast

Friedrichstraße station & 'Palace of Tears' - darkometer rating : 3 - As one of the latest additions to Berlin 's extensive dark tourism portfolio, a new exhibition opened in September 2011 in the authentic site of the former main GDR border checkpoint between East and West Berlin, the so-called "Palace of Tears" at Friedrichstraße station. The latter had already had another element of dark history, namely from the Nazi era, which is also commemorated by means of a poignant monument. > More background info > What there is to see > Location > Access and costs > Time required > Combinations with other dark destinations > Combinations with non-dark destinations > Photos More background info: The building of the Friedrichstraße station was originally begun in the second half of the 19th century as part of the rapid expansion of the transport system in the growing metropolis Berlin . Like so many stations in Berlin (and elsewhere in the German Third Reich ), Friedrichstraße too was the departure point for many deportation trains during the Holocaust . And before that, several of the so-called Kindertransporte (Refugee Children Movement) trains also left from here. In late 1938/early 1939 these trains were allowed to take some 10,000 mostly Jewish children to safety in Great Britain , where they were taken care of by foster families – while most of their Jewish parents and families later perished in the 'final solution' during WWII . Both of these aspects are now commemorated through a sculpture outside the station. (There are corresponding memorials to the Kindertransporte at Liverpool Street Station in London and Vienna 's Westbahnhof station.) After WWII, Friedrichstraße station became especially infamous as the main border crossing point between East and West Berlin. The station was actually located entirely within the Eastern sector of the city, i.e.