Berlin Border Museum

From Yahoo News:
"Merkel opens memorial at Berlin border crossing"

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.

^ It's good to make places like this into a museum so those that didn't live through it can learn what happened. Merkel was born in West Germany and her parents moved her to East Germany. If my parents willingly did that to me I would have been furious, but I guess they were/are good Communists and wanted to live in the "people's paradise." There are rumors that one or both of her parents worked for either the East German Government or the Stasi since their life in East Germany was well-above that of the ordinary working class. I don't know if that's true or not, but it would make sense since no one in their right mind would move their family into a totalitarian state unless they were given benefits and guarantees. ^

http://news.yahoo.com/merkel-opens-memorial-berlin-border-crossing-