STADTMITTE UMSTEIGEN? HEINZ KNOBLOCH AND THE ‘ARCHAEOLOGICAL’ TRACES OF BERLIN'S GHOST STATIONS

ABSTRACT In 1982, the East German journalist Heinz Knobloch published a volume entitled Stadtmitte umsteigen . Its title was provocative: since the construction of the Berlin Wall, it had not been possible to change trains at Stadtmitte in East Berlin, as one of the two lines functioned only as a transit route between the north and south of West Berlin. In the opening text, Knobloch invites readers to join him in an imaginary excavation of Stadtmitte station, uncovering memories of its status as an interchange and its role during the final days of the Third Reich. By exploring this text alongside Knobloch's manuscripts, GDR government files, eyewitness accounts and press material, this article expands the range of his ‘archaeological’ approach, shedding new light on Berlin's ghost stations. What Knobloch could never have imagined is that the GDR government planned to reintegrate the transit routes into East Berlin's underground network. These plans would have brought the ghost stations back to life, blocking the transit route used by the 50,000 West Berlin passengers who passed through Stadtmitte each day. The repeated deferral of these plans shows how logistical ties helped to maintain a precarious stability beneath the Iron Curtain.