The Wall is
one of the most fascinating subjects for visitors and newcomers to Berlin, as
you can probably tell by the crowds gathered around the main tourist sights. However,
there is one place that seems to be off the tourist radar, perhaps because of
its location in not-so-glamorous Lichtenberg. It is the complex of the Stasi
headquarters and archives, tucked away behind busy Frankurfter Allee, just
outside the underground station of Magdalenenstrasse.
When I went
on a Monday morning in mid-July there were very few people about, although the
two local workmen walking past were astonished to see that “Alle diese Leute
wollen zum Stasimuseum?!?” (All these people want to go to the Stasi Museum?!?”)
They obviously don’t spend much time around Checkpoint Charlie, which by the
way looks more like Disneyland these days.
If you want
an authentic experience of the GDR (forget the Trabi Safari and the DDR Museum,
they’re for Ostalgics, i.e. nostalgics about East Germany), get on the U5 or
walk 10 minutes from Frankfurter Allee station. There you will be reminded
about how brutal and repressive the East German regime actually was and how the
Stasi (the official state security service of the GDR) spied on the East German
population.
If the weather
is too good and you don’t feel like going inside the building or if you don’t
want to pay the €6 entrance fee (€4.50 reduced), make sure you spend some time
looking at the free open-air exhibition called “Revolution and the Fall of the
Wall”. It is dedicated to the history of
the Peaceful Revolution (Friedliche Revolution in German) that eventually led to the fall
of the Wall. The bilingual (German/English) exhibition focuses on the brave citizens
who stood up to the communist dictatorship and offers an uplifting message about
the strength of people power.
