The GDR border system was formed by a series of chain-link fences, walls, turrets and mine fields that was in place from 1961 to 1990, and was 1381 km (858 miles) in length, the entire length of the border separating East (the German Democratic Republic, or GDR) and West Germany (the Federal Republic of Germany, or FRG). The more famous Berlin Wall, which separated East and West Berlin, was merely part of the much longer "inner-German border" or "German-German border". 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article is about the year. ... National motto: none Official languages German Capital East Berlin Largest city East Berlin Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 106th 108,333 km² Negligible Creation -Unified 7 October 1949 3 October 1990 Currency East German mark Time zone  â€“ in summer CET (UTC+1) CEST (UTC+2) National anthem Auferstanden aus Ruinen Internet... Remnant of the Berlin Wall near Potsdamer Platz, June 2003 The Berlin Wall (German: Die Berliner Mauer) was a long barrier separating West Berlin from East Berlin and the surrounding territory of East Germany. ...

The border between the two Germanies was long regarded as the most likely invasion route from either east or west. Accordingly, it was the most heavily guarded section of the Iron Curtain, and was arguably the most militarised border anywhere in the world. Europe at the time of the Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain (Eiserner Vorhang in German, Železná opona in Czech, Железный занавес (Zhelezniy zanaves) in Russian, Vasfüggöny in Hungarian, Jernteppet in Norwegian, Żelazna kurtyna in Polish, Cortina de fier in Romanian, Желязна завеса in Bulgarian , Rautaesirippu in Finnish ) is a Western term referring...

The route of the border between the three Western occupation zones and the Soviet Zone was laid down by the victorious powers after the Second World War, and did not change when the two German states were founded after 1949. It roughly matched the old state borders between Hanover and Prussia, Hesse and Anhalt, Hesse and Thuringia, and Thuringia and Bavaria. Continuing south, the border between Bavaria and Czechoslovakia was similarly fortified on the Czech side. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) is a common year starting on Saturday. ... Hanover (German: Hannover []), on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), Germany. ... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (German: Preußen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: PrÅ«sai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of Russia and... Hesse (German: Hessen) is one of Germanys sixteen federal states (Bundesländer) and has an area of 21,110 km² and just over six million inhabitants. ... Anhalt is a historical region of Germany, which is now included in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. ... The Free State of Thuringia (German Freistaat Thüringen) lies in central Germany and is among the smaller of the countrys sixteen Bundesländer (federal states), with an area of 16,200 sq. ... The Free State of Bavaria  (German: Freistaat Bayern), with an area of 70,553 km² (27,241 square miles) and 12. ...

The GDR's official name for the border was the "state border between the GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany and West Berlin". In the FRG, the term Zonengrenze (zone border) was also used. The Berlin Wall was officially termed the "anti-fascist protection rampart" in the GDR, but was widely known simply as "die Mauer" ("the Wall") on both sides of the border.

The status of the GDR borders with Poland and Czechoslovakia was nominally open, these countries being "fraternal socialist allies" and fellow Warsaw Pact members. In practice, however, east German residents wishing to leave the GDR, even merely for a vacation on socialist territory, often faced tough controls and long waits for exit visas. Meanwhile, residents of other East European Communist nations flocked to the GDR for trade and leisure when possible, as it was the most prosperous country of the Soviet bloc. Seal of the Warsaw Pact Distinguish from the Warsaw Convention, which is an agreement among airlines about financial liability. ...

History of the DDR-BRD border

Until 1952 the border existed only on paper, with free movement between the Western and Soviet occupation zones. From that date, however, the Soviets and East Germans undertook extensive work to close it. A no-man's land was cleared along the route and 11,000 people living near the area were moved away. Several towns and villages were split in two, with families often split by the fortification of the border. Barbed wire was laid down along the entire length of the border, and secondary and local roads leading to the border were ripped up in order to prevent civilians from approaching it. 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Between 1949 and 1990 approximately 2 million people crossed from the GDR to the FRG; about 200,000 people crossed in the other direction. From 1961 the GDR border was strengthened further to prevent mass migration to the west, and the westward movement slowed to a trickle. East German paramilitary police guarded on the border. Soviet troops were stationed well back from the inter-German line and normally did not stand daily watch there. The maintenance and operation of the border was largely left to the East Germans, not least because the East German leadership was conscious that the continued viability of their state was at risk if uncontrolled emigration continued. 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article is about the armed forces of the Soviet Union. ...

The border was actively guarded using a variety of often lethal methods. Mines were buried and watchtowers set up. Dogs patrolled the area and automatic firing devices pointing towards the GDR territory could be triggered by movement. The border guards stationed along the route had orders to stop anyone attempting to escape by shooting them.

Freedom of movement across the border was not totally prevented, but was extremely tightly controlled. Several autobahns and rail lines remained as viable means of travel. West German citizens were allowed to travel to the GDR, but faced movement restrictions and police surveillance while there. Military and government officials of the Western Allies on their way to and from West Berlin could cross the border by car and train under Soviet travel authorization, outside of the GDR's authority. This article is about the German, Swiss road system. ...

The Berlin Wall

The most famous part of the GDR border was the Berlin Wall, built on 13 August 1961, cutting off the three Western sectors of Berlin from East Berlin and the GDR. There were small-scale counterparts of the Berlin Wall at sections of the border near inhabited areas. One example was built in the town of Mödlareuth in Thuringia which, like Berlin, was split in half by the border (and so was nicknamed "little Berlin" as a result). Remnant of the Berlin Wall near Potsdamer Platz, June 2003 The Berlin Wall (German: Die Berliner Mauer) was a long barrier separating West Berlin from East Berlin and the surrounding territory of East Germany. ... August 13 is the 225th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (226th in leap years), with 140 days remaining. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Escape attempts

East Germans' desire to escape the confines of their state led to a number of daring crossings of the border, at great personal risk to the escapees.

One of the more famous escape crossings was in September 1979 by hot air balloon. The Strelzyk and Wetzel families of Poessneck, in the GDR, built their own balloon, burner, basket and converted a barometer into an altimeter. Although the Strelzyks were left alone to make the attempt, the first attempt failed in June 1979, and the two families, knowing the secret police would find both, made the second attempt together and succeeded. Their story was made into a movie in 1981, Night Crossing, by Walt Disney Pictures. After living in several places in West Germany and Switzerland, the Strelzyks relocated back to Poessneck in 1999. This page refers to the year 1979. ... Hot air balloons are the oldest successful human flight technology, dating back to the Montgolfier brothers invention in Annonay, France in 1783. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Walt Disney Pictures is a United States-based movie studio, the biggest studio in Hollywood, with studios in Japan and the United States. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

Border deaths

The border defences claimed a number of victims on both sides of the border.

People killed while escaping the GDR

Several hundred people died while attempting to escape from the GDR, mostly civilians. The exact number of victims is difficult to calculate. The Berlin Public Prosecution Department reckons that about 270 'proven' deaths on the border were due to acts of violence by GDR border security guards, including deaths caused by mines and automatic firing devices. The Central Assessment Group for Governmental and Federational Crimes (German ZERV), however, has registered 421 suspected cases of killings by armed GDR border guards.

On 12 August 2003, the "13 August Association" published the number of victims of the GDR border guards as 1,008, but with a fairly wide-ranging definition of the term "victim". This figure includes, for example, victims who drowned in the Baltic Sea or died as a result of accidents; suicides after attempted escapes; even border soldiers shot by escapees and Germans killed escaping over other borders (to Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, etc). August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Baltic Sea is located in Northern Europe, from 53 deg. ...

Some famous East German victims include Peter Fechter, Chris Gueffroy and Günter Litfin. Portrait photograph of Peter Fechter Peter Fechter (14 January 1944 – 17 August 1962) was a bricklayer from East Berlin, who at the age of 18 became one of the first, and probably the most famous, of the victims of the Berlin Wall. ... Chris Gueffroy (June 21, 1968 – February 6, 1989) was the last person to die trying to escape across the Berlin Wall. ...

Deaths of West Germans

A few West Germans died on the border. One famous case is that of Michael Gartenschläger, a West German who protested against the use of lethal measures on the border. He highlighted the GDR's use of automatic firing devices by defusing two of them, but was killed by East German border guards in 1976 while trying to defuse a third. 1976 (MCMLXXVI) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Deaths of GDR border guards

Between 1949 and 1990, a total of 28 GDR border guards and soldiers were also killed. Nearly all of them died on the GDR border; one died on the border to Czechoslovakia. Another, 29th soldier was killed before the GDR was founded. Of these 29 cases, eight died at the Berlin Wall. Most of the GDR border guards killed belonged to the Volkspolizei (People's Police Force) and the GDR border guards. A 1:87 scale model of a Volkspolizei police car The Volkspolizei (German: Peoples Police) was the national police of East German, whose officers were commonly nicknamed VoPos. ... Guards who protected the GDR. Often killed many people. ...

Apart from civilians fleeing the GDR, half of the remaining probable perpetrators were citizens of West Berlin and West Germans or US soldiers, and about half were deserting GDR border guards or Volkspolizei soldiers. One was a deserting Soviet soldier. In the GDR, some of these soldiers killed were venerated as heroes; streets, children's camps, soldiers' garrisons and schools were named after them.

From today's point of view it is difficult to judge whether some of the cases really took place as described or whether some are simply propaganda. It is also unclear how many were cases of self-defence or even "friendly fire". Border clashes were always possible because the border defences were set back from the actual borderline, with the gap in between constituting a sort of no man's land. West German or US troops could thus be some distance to the west of the border defences but could still cross the borderline without being aware of it. North Korean propaganda showing a soldier destroying the United States Capitol building. ...

The border area today

The inner German border was opened on 9 November 1989 under the GDR Chairman of the State Council Egon Krenz. This sparked a chain of events which led to the reunification of the two German states on 3 October 1990. The border now no longer exists, but even today Germans still talk about the "wall in people’s heads" referring to conflicts between East and West Germans. November 9 is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 52 days remaining. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Egon Krenz (born March 19, 1937) is a former German Communist politician, who briefly served as leader of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in 1989 before the end of Communist rule. ... German reunification (Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) took place on October 3, 1990, when the areas of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR, in English commonly called East Germany) were incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, in English commonly called West Germany). After the GDRs first free elections on 18... October 3 is the 276th day of the year (277th in Leap years). ... This article is about the year. ...

The vast majority of the border defences have been torn down, although a few stretches and isolated individual facilities such as watchtowers have been preserved for posterity. At Mödlareuth, parts of the former "death strip" that bisected the town have been preserved and integrated into an exhibition on the border zone. At Helmstedt, the former site of Checkpoint Alpha – the autobahn checkpoint passing from West Germany into East Germany – a Border Zone Museum (Zonengrenz-Museum) has been built around a preserved section of the border defences. Helmstedt is a city located at the eastern edge of the German state of Lower Saxony. ...

In recent years, parts of the old border and Wall strips have become hiking trails and nature preserves. Undeveloped for decades, the border area became a refuge for some animal and plant species endangered elsewhere in Europe.

In September 2005, the European Parliament called for the former border area to become part of an "Iron Curtain trail" stretching 4,250 miles (6,800 km) from the Arctic Sea to the Black Sea along the Cold War border between the Western and Soviet blocs. 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The European Parliament is the parliamentary body of the European Union (EU), directly elected by EU citizens once every five years. ... The Arctic Ocean, located entirely in the north polar region, is the smallest of the worlds five oceans (after the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Southern Ocean), and the shallowest. ... Map of the Black Sea. ...

External link

• An artists depiction of the kind of barriers used on the border
• Pictures of the former inner-German border
• Links to many sites with GDR border system pictures
• Information on the GDR border system (in German, but with good pictures)
• Zonengrenz-Museum Helmstedt