Trains to Life – Trains to Death

Berlin Friedrichstraße (German: [bɛʁˌliːn ˈfʁiːdʁɪçˌʃtʁaːsə] (listen)) is a railway station in the German capital Berlin. It is located on the Friedrichstraße, a major north-south street in the Mitte district of Berlin, adjacent to the point where the street crosses the river Spree. Underneath the station is the U-Bahn station Friedrichstraße.Due to its central location in Berlin and its proximity to attractions such as the Unter den Linden boulevard, the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag, the station is a favorite destination for tourists. At the same time, it is the main junction for regional traffic in Berlin, measured by the number of passengers.During the Cold War, Friedrichstraße became famous for being a station that was located entirely in East Berlin, yet continued to be served by S-Bahn and U-Bahn trains from West Berlin as well as long distance trains from countries west of the Iron Curtain. The station also was a major border crossing between East and West Berlin.

The Tränenpalast (English: "Palace of Tears") is a former border crossing point between East and West Berlin, at Berlin Friedrichstraße station, which was in operation between 1962 and 1989. It is now a museum with exhibitions about Berlin during the Cold War period and about the process of German reunification. It was the border crossing for travellers on the S-bahn, U-bahn and trains going between East and West Germany. It was used only for westbound border crossings. It had separate checkpoints for West Berliners, West Germans, foreigners, diplomats, transit travellers and East Germans. The term Tränenpalast is derived from the tearful partings that took place in front of the building between western visitors and East German residents who were not permitted to travel to West Berlin.

The Admiralspalast (German for admiral palace) is a 1,756-seat theatre on Friedrichstraße in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany. Opened in 1910, it is one of the few preserved variety venues of the pre-World War II era in the city. As a place of amusement the Admiralspalast originally included a skating rink, a public bath, bowling alleys, a café and a cinema open day and night. After World War I it changed to a revue theatre, starting with the show Drunter und drüber by Walter Kollo, later continued by the performance of operettas. As the building suffered little damage from World War II bombing, it was home to the Berlin State Opera until the reconstruction of the Berlin State Opera house in 1955. On April 21–22 1946, the Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Communist Party of Germany in the Soviet occupation zone held a convention at the Admiralspalast where they merged to become the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. The performance of revues and operettas were continued under the name of Metropol-Theater until its disestablishment in 1997. The GDR Union of Journalists had its offices inside the Admiralspalast.On August 11, 2006, it reopened with The Threepenny Opera, directed by Klaus Maria Brandauer.

The old Komische Oper was a privately run Opera house in Berlin-Mitte, Friedrichstraße 104, at the Weidendammer Bridge. It is not to be confused with today's Komische Oper Berlin, Behrenstraße 55-57. The naming Komische Oper referred to the Parisian Opéra-Comique.

The Weidendammer Bridge is a 73-metre-long (240 ft) bridge where the Friedrichstraße crosses the Spree river in the central Mitte district of Berlin, Germany. It is notable for its ornate wrought iron railings, lanterns, and Imperial eagles.

The Theater am Schiffbauerdamm (German pronunciation: [teˈaːtɐ ʔam ˈʃɪfbaʊɐˌdam]) is a theatre building at the Schiffbauerdamm riverside in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany, opened on 19 November 1892. Since 1954, it has been home to the Berliner Ensemble theatre company, founded in 1949 by Helene Weigel and Bertolt Brecht.The original name of the Neo-baroque construction by the architect Heinrich Seeling was Neues Theater. The first performance was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's play Iphigenie auf Tauris. Die Weber, a naturalistic drama by Gerhart Hauptmann, had its premiere in a private audience at the theatre on 26 February 1893. From 1903 to 1906, the Neues Theater was under the management of Max Reinhardt; it later became the site of numerous operetta performances. With the premiere of the comedy Der fröhliche Weinberg by Carl Zuckmayer on 22 December 1925, the theatre returned to dramatic art, followed by the first performances of The Threepenny Opera (Die Dreigroschenoper) on 31 August 1928 and of the Italienische Nacht by Ödön von Horváth on 20 March 1931. Bertolt Brecht staged Marieluise Fleißer's play Pioneers in Ingolstadt on 30 March 1929, causing a scandal. The theatre saw Gustaf Gründgens giving his debut as a director with Jean Cocteau's Orphée and guest performances by the Truppe 31 stage company of Gustav von Wangenheim. From 1931 on, the theatre was called Deutsches Nationaltheater am Schiffbauerdamm. Notable actors included Lotte Lenya, Carola Neher, Hilde Körber, Helene Weigel, Ernst Busch, Ernst Deutsch, Kurt Gerron, Theo Lingen, and Peter Lorre. With the Nazi takeover in 1933, the theatre declined and was finally closed in 1944. Veit Harlan made his directoral debut there in 1935 with Wolfgang Böttcher's musical comedy Marriage on the Panke. Reopened after World War II, the theatre was finally taken over by Bertolt Brecht. Today, it is considered one of the most glamorous theatres in Germany and the building is currently undergoing historic preservation.

Unter den Linden is an U-Bahn station in the central Mitte district of Berlin, at the intersection of Unter den Linden and Friedrichstraße. It is an interchange station between the U5 and U6 U-Bahn lines.

The Großes Schauspielhaus (Great Theater) was a theatre in Berlin, Germany, often described as an example of expressionist architecture, designed by Hans Poelzig for theatre impresario Max Reinhardt. The structure was originally a market built by architect Friedrich Hitzig, and it retained its external, gabled form. It then became the Zirkus Schumann, a circus arena. It was renovated by Poelzig and reopened in 1919, contained seating for 3500 people. Max Reinhardt wanted to attract a working-class audience. The large size allowed for people who could pay top prices for the best seats to support low-cost seats, in the back of the theater. Painted red, it was a cavernous, domed space and had no balconies, which contributed to its vastness. Its dome and the pillars were decorated with Muqarnas, a honeycombed pendentive ornament, which resembled stalactites. When illuminated, the ceiling's lightbulbs formed patterns of celestial constellations, and the vaulted ceiling took on another concept, the night sky. In the lobby and elsewhere, Poelzig used coloured lightbulbs to create striking visual backdrops. Separate entrances were provided for the expensive and the cheap seats. The theatre also included a restaurant for the wealthy audience members, a cafeteria for the poorer audience members, and a bar. The performers and technicians enjoyed their own bar, a barber shop, ample dressing room space, and the modern stage equipment. The Nazis took over in 1933 and changed its name to Theatre of the People. They described the building as an example of Entartete Kunst and refurbished its interior by adding a hung ceiling to hide the stalactite forms. After World War II, it was used for variety shows under the name of Friedrichstadt-Palast until 1988, when it was condemned and demolished. There was a strong subsidence of the foundation and moulding of the supporting piles. The new Friedrichstadt-Palast has been erected on Friedrichstraße 107.

Germania (pronounced [ɡɛʁˈmaːni̯a]) was the projected renewal of the German capital Berlin during the Nazi period, part of Adolf Hitler's vision for the future of Nazi Germany after the planned victory in World War II. It was to be the capital of his planned "Greater Germanic Reich". Albert Speer, the "first architect of the Third Reich", produced many of the plans for the rebuilt city in his capacity as overseer of the project, only a small portion of which was realized between the years 1938 and 1943 when construction took place. Some of the projects were completed, such as the creation of a great East–West city axis, which included broadening Charlottenburger Chaussee (today Straße des 17. Juni) and placing the Berlin Victory Column in the centre, far away from the Reichstag, where it originally stood. Others, however, such as the creation of the Grosse Halle (Great Hall), had to be shelved owing to the beginning of war. A great number of the old buildings in many of the planned construction areas were, however, demolished before the war, and eventually defeat stopped the plans.

The Friedrichstraße (German pronunciation: [ˈfʁiːdʁɪçˌʃtʁaːsə]) (lit. Frederick Street) is a major culture and shopping street in central Berlin, forming the core of the Friedrichstadt neighborhood and giving the name to Berlin Friedrichstraße station. It runs from the northern part of the old Mitte district (north of which it is called Chausseestraße) to the Hallesches Tor in the district of Kreuzberg. This downtown area is known for its expensive real estate market and the campus of the Hertie School of Governance. Due to its north-southerly direction, it forms important junctions with the east-western axes, most notably with Leipziger Straße and Unter den Linden. The U6 U-Bahn line runs underneath. During the Cold War it was bisected by the Berlin Wall and was the location of Checkpoint Charlie.

The Westin Grand Berlin is a luxury business hotel located on Friedrichstraße in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany.

The Komische Oper Berlin is a German opera company based in Berlin. The company produces opera, operetta and musicals. The opera house is located on Behrenstraße, just a few steps from Unter den Linden. Since 2004, the Komische Oper Berlin, along with the Berlin State Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Berlin State Ballet, and the Bühnenservice Berlin (Stage and Costume Design), has been a member of the Berlin Opera Foundation.