Traenenpalast Museum Opens To The Public in Berlin

A visitor looks at a display of video monitors once used by East German border police at the Traenenpalast museum on its first day open to the public on September 15, 2011 in Berlin, Germany. The museum documents the history of the Friedrichstrasse crossing between East and West Berlin. Located at the end of an East Berlin subway line, it was the final point of departure for West Germans returning west after visiting relatives in the East, which earned the building the popular name Traenenpalast, or Palace of Tears. Border gaurds often subjected travelers to inordinately long waits and meticulous searches. The construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 separated families and friends overnight as the East German government mostly forbid its citizens from travelling west. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe)

A visitor looks at a display of video monitors once used by East German border police at the Traenenpalast museum on its first day open to the public on September 15, 2011 in Berlin, Germany. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe)

A visitor looks at exhibits at the Traenenpalast museum. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe)

A visitor looks at exhibits at the Traenenpalast museum on its first day open to the public on September 15, 2011 in Berlin, Germany. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe)

A visitor looks at exhibits at the Traenenpalast museum. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe)

A visitor looks at exhibits at the Traenenpalast museum on its first day open to the public on September 15, 2011 in Berlin, Germany. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe)

A visitor looks at exhibits in suitcases documenting individual stories of migration between East and West. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe)

A visitor looks at exhibits at the Traenenpalast museum. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe)

Visitors look at and listen to individual stories of migration between East and West. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe)

Visitors look at exibits next to a photograph of Cold War travelers at the Traenenpalast museum on its first day open to the public on September 15, 2011 in Berlin, Germany. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe)

Visitors look at exibits next to an original sign that reads: “Departure, Long Distance Trains, S-Bahn, U-Bahn”. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe)

Young visitors look at a chalkboard where other visitors have left messages at the Traenenpalast museum on its first day open to the public on September 15, 2011 in Berlin, Germany. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe)

An East German border policeman’s hat, a rubber stamp and travel docuemnts lie on display in a former customs control booth. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe)

Visitors look at exibits at the Traenenpalast museum on its first day open to the public. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe)

Visitors look at a model of the original Friedrichstrasse border crossing hall and train station. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe)

A visitor looks at exhibits next to an original sign that reads: “Berlin, Capital Of The German Democratic Republic”. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe)

Visitors walk by the entrance over which the original word “Departure,” in Russian, German and French, is written at the Traenenpalast museum. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe)

Exhibits, including a sign clarifying the validity of visas for West Berliners, hang on display at the Traenenpalast museum. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe)

Visitors walk by the entrance over which the original word “Departure” is written in German at the Traenenpalast museum. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe)

A visitor listens to a story next to an original sign that reads: “Passport Control For Entry Of Citizens Of West Berlin Via North-South S-Bahn” at the Traenenpalast museum. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe)