On 04/01/2012 21:41, Wolfgang Schwanke wrote:
"Paul wrote in
:

Meanwhile passengers waiting to
board the train on the platform had to wait, all whom would have been
people who'd arrived by U-Bahn or S-Bahn from West Berlin.

Not quite . When I was there in 1989 pensioners were allowed to exit
the Socialist Utopia in the street outside and there were a lot of
Poles coming through the checkpoint below (and checkpoint charlie too
- (for Luko's benefit that's the Uberganstelle
Friedrichstrasse/Zimmerstrasse).

Yes but they would still have arrived (geographically) from West
Berlin. Of course certain groups of easterners were allowed to travel
there, pensioners being the most important one.

I think the Poiish Government must
have told the DDR to let them pass.

Poland had more liberal emigration laws than most other Eastern Block
countries. I don't know the details, but somehow they were entitled to
western travel under certain conditions. There have always been a large
number of Poles in West Germany legally. I think Hungary was similar.

AIUI, Poles during the communist era were allowed to visit West Berlin,
but I don't know if they were allowed to go into West Germany from there.

IIRC, Yugoslav citizens could also easily acquire international
passports and leave the country.