In August 1990, this box was used for the ballot on East Germany’s accession to the Federal Republic of Germany. Intentionally made from glass, it symbolised a new transparency in parliamentary decision-making. The deputies of the first freely elected Volkskammer (the highest constitutional body in the former East Germany) were no longer part of a parliament that simply rubber-stamped the policies of the East German party leadership, but were true democrats.

Today the box is on display in the entrance to the Humboldt Forum, which stands on the site of the East German Palace of the Republic, where the parliament met. It’s since been removed and replaced with something of a recreation of the old palace, but the legacy of the story remains.