The word "Tacheles" (Yiddish word for "plain, honest, straightforward talk") is based on censorship problems in the GDR. As a result of limited freedom of speech, musicians, directors and artists were not permitted to openly express themselves, and they were forced to conceal the true message of the work. The use of Yiddish is probably a result of the building's location in the old Jewish quarter (now the Scheunenviertel).