The fortifications of the inner German border comprised a complex system of interlocking fortifications and security zones long and several kilometres deep, running from the Baltic Sea to Czechoslovakia. The outer fences and walls were the most familiar and visible aspect of the system for Western visitors to the border zone, but they were merely the final obstacle for a would-be escapee from East Germany. The complexity of the border system increased steadily until it reached its full extent in the early 1980s. The following description and the accompanying diagram describe the border as it was around 1980.
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| - Fortifications of the inner German border
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| - The fortifications of the inner German border comprised a complex system of interlocking fortifications and security zones long and several kilometres deep, running from the Baltic Sea to Czechoslovakia. The outer fences and walls were the most familiar and visible aspect of the system for Western visitors to the border zone, but they were merely the final obstacle for a would-be escapee from East Germany. The complexity of the border system increased steadily until it reached its full extent in the early 1980s. The following description and the accompanying diagram describe the border as it was around 1980.
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| - 1960.0
- Soviet-made tripwire-activated POMZ-2 anti-personnel stake mine.
- Preserved section of the primary control strip at Hötensleben, with the guards' road on the left and the border wall on the right.
- SM-70 tripwire-activated directional anti-personnel mine mounted on the border fence. The cone contained an explosive charge which fired shrapnel fragments when activated.
- Control strip and anti-vehicle ditch.
- Czech hedgehog obstacle defences at Hötensleben.
- Truck impaled on chevaux-de-frise barricades.
- Footprints in the control strip near Hötensleben after an escape on the inner German border in January 1988.
- Soviet-made PMN-2 pressure-activated anti-personnel mine before ' and after ' detonation.
- The actual border: a West German boundary sign, an East German boundary marker and the border fence beyond.
- Annotated diagram of the third-generation inner German border system c. 1984
- Warning sign on the East German side of the border: Border restriction area! Trespassing and driving prohibited!
- East German border guard and dog inspecting the secondary control strip for signs of escapees.
- East German permit to access the 5 km wide Sperrzone behind the border
- An East German border boundary stone with the letters "DDR" carved on the western-facing edge.
- The distinctive "barber pole" type of border marker.
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| Width
| - 98(xsd:integer)
- 100(xsd:integer)
- 108(xsd:integer)
- 142(xsd:integer)
- 150(xsd:integer)
- 166(xsd:integer)
- 170(xsd:integer)
- 175(xsd:integer)
- 180(xsd:integer)
- 190(xsd:integer)
- 194(xsd:integer)
- 200(xsd:integer)
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| - -1800.0
- Black disc-shaped landmine on a white display stand, alongside broken fragments of another landmine.
- Low view of a truck on snowy ground with the undercarriage resting on a triangular metal obstacle and the front wheels suspended in the air.
- View across a strip of bare ground across which a series of markers numbering from 2 to 9 has been laid. A concrete-faced ditch and a high fence are visible in the background.
- View across a landscape with a leaning sign reading "Halt Hier Zonengrenze Bundesgrenzschutz" in the foreground, a red/black/yellow striped square-shaped pole just behind, and a metal fence and watchtower visible across a strip of open ground in the background.
- View along a row of triangular metal spikes standing between a bare earth strip and a metal fence.
- View along a ploughed bare earth strip, the right-hand side of which descends into a ditch faced with concrete. A metal fence is situated further to the right.
- Black club-shaped landmine with a spike on its top end, mounted on the end of a wooden stake which is standing in a sand-filled container.
- Yellow sign mounted on a pole reading "Grenzgebiet Sperrzone! Betreten und befehren verboten!"
- A red/black/yellow striped square-shaped pole with a metal spike on the top side. A metal plaque with an emblem and the words "Deutsche Demokratische Republik" is visible on one face.
- Soldier with binoculars holding the leash of a dog which is sniffing a narrow strip of bare earth, with fields on either side.
- Strip of bare ploughed earth flanked by a concrete road on one side and a row of barricades and a fence on the other side, with buildings visible in the far background.
- Horn-shaped device mounted on the side of a metal fence, with trigger wires attached to it and running parallel to the fence into the foreground and background.
- The border is marked on the western side by signposts saying "HALT HIER GRENZE" . Behind the border, there is a border marker pole and an anti-vehicle ditch crossing the road. Then follows a metal-mesh fence. To the left of the road, the fence forks to form a double fence, with a mined area in between. The road has another anti-vehicle ditch instead of a second fence. Next follows a flood-lit control strip; behind that, a guard patrol road running parallel to the border, then a strip of open territory with guard towers and an observation bunker, then a flood-lit signal fence curving around a village, excluding it from the border strip. Where it crosses the road, the signal fence has a gate; further away, the road is blocked by a horizontal barrier, with a little house next to it.
- Square grey stone with "DDR" carved on one face, located in a patch of scrubby brown grass.
- Pink slip of paper with the heading "Passierschein III zum vorübergehenden Aufenthalt in der Sperrzone"
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| Image
| - Control strip and ditch.jpg
- Control strip hoetensleben.jpg
- DDR Grenzpfahl 02.jpg
- Freilandmuseum Behrungen 5.jpg
- Gdr border outer strip.jpg
- Inner german border diagram 1960s.png
- PMN-2 mine.jpg
- POMS-2 mine.jpg
- Panzersperre hoetensleben.jpg
- Passierschein.jpg
- Sm-70 schlagsdorf.jpg
- Sperrzone sign.jpg
- System of gdr border fortification.jpg
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| abstract
| - The fortifications of the inner German border comprised a complex system of interlocking fortifications and security zones long and several kilometres deep, running from the Baltic Sea to Czechoslovakia. The outer fences and walls were the most familiar and visible aspect of the system for Western visitors to the border zone, but they were merely the final obstacle for a would-be escapee from East Germany. The complexity of the border system increased steadily until it reached its full extent in the early 1980s. The following description and the accompanying diagram describe the border as it was around 1980. Travelling notionally from east to west, an escapee would first reach the edge of the restricted zone (Sperrzone), a closely controlled strip of land 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) wide, running parallel with the border. Evading the patrols and watchful inhabitants of the Sperrzone, the escapee would have reached the first of the border fences. The signal fence (Signalzaun), around from the actual border, was lined with low-voltage electrified barbed wire which activated alarms when touched or cut. Beyond the signal fence was the "protective strip" (Schutzstreifen). It was brightly lit by floodlights in many places to reduce an escapee's chances of using the cover of darkness. Guard towers, bunkers and dog runs were positioned at frequent intervals to keep a round-the-clock watch on the strip. Crossing the Schutzstreifen, the escapee would next reach the floodlit control strip, often called the "death strip" in the West. Tripwire-activated flare launchers were situated at various points to help the border guards to pinpoint the location of an escape attempt. The last and most formidable obstacle was the outer fencing. In some places there were multiple parallel rows of fences, each up to several metres high, with minefields in between. The fences were not electrified but were booby-trapped with directional anti-personnel mines at intervals of , each one of which was capable of killing at a range of up to . Finally, the escapee had to cross whatever natural obstacles were on the western side of the border fence as well as traversing a strip of cleared ground that was up to 500 meters (1640 ft) wide. While crossing this outer strip, the escapee would appear in clear view and shooting range of the border guards before reaching the safety of West German territory.
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![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)