Ghost train at Nordbahnhof in East Berlin by Silva Wischeropp

About "Ghost train at Nordbahnhof in East Berlin"

by Silva Wischeropp

About the artwork

Only the underground S-Bahn station remains from the former Nordbahnhof long-distance railway station. At the beginning of the 20th century, the large hall of the Szczecin railway station and the small reception building of the suburban railway station were located on the site of the Nordbahnhof. The suburban station lost its function when the suburban railway went into operation and the underground station was built in 1936. The long-distance railway station was also closed in 1952. It had been badly damaged during the war and was also located in the immediate vicinity of the border. In the first few years after the Wall was built, many people tried to flee via the railway. For this reason, the above-ground area of the northern railway station became a restricted area. Only members of the transport and border police or border troops had access.
However, transport police and border guards also monitored the underground platforms. The station had an exit to both East and West Berlin. It therefore offered very good escape routes. The entire area was therefore hermetically sealed off. The underground S-Bahn station developed into a ghost station, as the trains on the S-Bahn line ran westwards and therefore no longer stopped at Nordbahnhof. In today's S-Bahn station you will find an exhibition about the border and ghost stations in Berlin. There you can also find out how people managed to escape through the underground and S-Bahn network of the divided city despite all the obstacles.
You can discover some remnants of the border fortifications in the park on the Nordbahnhof site: For example, the wall that now borders the area of the beach volleyball court. It was once part of the Hinterland Wall.