U-Bahnhof Stadtmitte (U6)

Like Alexanderplatz, Stadtmitte was a split station. The U2 platform operated normally for East Berliners (as “Otto-Grotewohl-Straße”), while the physically separate U6 platform was sealed as a ghost station. Western U6 passengers could see the closed platform as they passed through.

The two levels of Stadtmitte station were an example of Berlin’s division. On the U2 platform, renamed “Otto-Grotewohl-Straße” after the first East German prime minister. East Berliners went about their daily commutes. Directly below, the sealed U6 platform sat through the sealed station, monitored by armed guards as Western trains passed through without stopping. Two worlds existed in the same building, separated by a few metres of concrete.

Western passengers riding the U6 could briefly glimpse the sealed Stadtmitte platform as their train passed through without stopping. The two levels of the station, one bustling with East Berliners, the other dark and guarded, were an example of Berlin’s division. After reunification, both platforms were reconnected and the station reverted to its original name.

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