Following U.S. independence from Great Britain, the United States established the first Consulate on German soil in Hamburg in June 1790, and the second one in Bremen in 1794, both independent German states at the time. killed or injured by landmines and 43people (0.9%) by SM-70 directional mines on the fence. [98] The largest was at Helmstedt-Marienborn on the HanoverBerlin autobahn, through which 34.6million travellers passed between 198589. An escapee in 1987 used meat hooks to scale the fences,[134] while in 1971 a doctor swam 45 kilometres (28mi) across the Baltic Sea from Rostock almost to the Danish island of Lolland, before he was picked up by a West German yacht. The GDR's government responded by stationing armed Transportpolizei (Trapos) on passenger ships to deal forcefully with escape attempts. [6], The inner German border originated from the Second World War Allies' plans to divide a defeated Germany into occupation zones. [7] The boundaries between these zones were drawn along the territorial boundaries of 19th-century German states and provinces that had largely disappeared with the unification of Germany in 1871. [97][96], During the 1950s, West Germany sent millions of propaganda leaflets into East Germany each year. In December 1989, only a month after the opening of the border, conservationists from East and West Germany met to work out a plan to establish a "German Green Belt" (Grnes Band Deutschland) stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Czech border. [56] It was monitored by guards stationed in concrete, steel and wooden watchtowers constructed at regular intervals along the entire length of the border. East Germany is a former communist state established in 1945 that was reunited with West Germany in 1990. Before and after the Blockade, Western civilian and military trains, road traffic and barges routinely passed through East Germany en route to Berlin. [112] Members of the Party elite and cultural ambassadors were frequently given permission to travel, as were essential transport workers. Freikauf was denounced by many as human trafficking but was defended by others as an "act of pure humanitarianism";[125] the West German government budgeted money for Freikauf under the euphemistic heading of "support of special aid measures of an all-German character. Although parts of the East German side of the border were farmed, intensive farming of the kind practised elsewhere in Germany was absent and large areas were untouched by agriculture. After the border was fortified and the Berlin Wall constructed, the number of illegal crossings fell dramatically and continued to fall as the defences were improved over the subsequent decades. Empty warehouses and hardly used port basins are being transformed into modern residential quarters. The reports' findings make for sobering reading ahead of the key anniversary on 3 October, when the country will celebrate the reunification of the two Germanies divided by 41 years of the GDR and. The local people turned out in their hundreds to welcome them; stout men and women in their Sunday best, twice or three times the average age of those getting off the trains, wept as they clapped. A border marker pole is in the foreground. At least 30public, private and municipal museums along the old line present displays of equipment and other artifacts relating to the border. [149] In one notorious shooting on 1May 1976, a former East German political prisoner, Michael Gartenschlger, who had fled to the West some years before, was ambushed and killed by a Stasi commando squad on the border near Bchen. The inner German border was not completely abandoned until 1July 1990,[5] exactly 45years to the day since its establishment, and only three months before German reunification formally ended Germany's division. [32] West German Army units were not allowed to approach the border without being accompanied by BGS personnel. Access to the outer strip was very tightly controlled, to ensure that the guards themselves would not be tempted to escape. 'These are our people, free at last,' they said Those arriving at Hof report people lining the route of the trains in East Germany waving and clapping and holding placards saying: 'We're coming soon.'[171]. The German Green Belt now links 160natural parks, 150flora-and-fauna areas, three UNESCO biosphere reservations and the Harz Mountains National Park. Torn-up identity papers and East German passports littered the tracks as the refugees threw them out of the windows. Windows in buildings adjoining the border were bricked or boarded up, and buildings deemed too close to the border were pulled down. Border Reconnaissance (Grenzaufklrungszug or GAK) soldiers, an elite reconnaissance force, carried out patrols and intelligence-gathering on the western side of the fence. For a while, payments were made in kind using goods that were in short supply in East Germany, such as oranges, bananas, coffee and medical drugs. Dozens of new crossings were opened by February 1990, and the guards no longer carried weapons or made much effort to check travellers' passports. General Heinz Hoffmann, the GDR defence minister, declared in August 1966 that "anyone who does not respect our border will feel the bullet." [158] Pictures of the barbed-wire fences being taken down were transmitted into East Germany by West German television stations. Membership of the Party collapsed and Krenz himself resigned on 6December 1989 after only 50 days in office, handing over to the moderate Hans Modrow. [58] Their entrances were always positioned facing towards the East German side, so that observers in the West could not see guards going in or out. The German Democratic Republic, known as East Germany, was the communist-socialist republic that retained it within the Soviet sphere of control. [115] An increasing number of East German citizens sought to use the Accords' provision on freedom of movement to secure exit visas. When the third-generation fortifications were constructed, the fences were moved back from between 20 metres (66ft) to as much as 2 kilometres (1.2mi). The GDR formally codified its regulations on the use of deadly force in March 1982, when the State Border Law mandated that firearms were to be used as the "maximum measure in the use of force" against individuals who "publicly attempt to break through the state border". [55] The post-war agreements on the governance of Berlin specified that the Western Allies were to have access to the city via defined air, road, rail and river corridors. The fortification of the border resulted in the severing of 32railway lines, three autobahns, 31main roads, eight primary roads, about 60 secondary roads and thousands of lanes and cart tracks. With elegance, audacity and foresight. [135] Another escapee used an air mattress to escape across the Baltic in 1987. The dogs were occasionally turned loose in temporary pens adjoining gates or damaged sections of the fence. The border could be crossed legally only through a limited number of air, road, rail and river routes. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video. Dana Regev 09/30/2020 The geographical division through the middle of. The actual line between West and East Germany was located on the far side of the outer strip. [189] The Bundestag voted unanimously in December 2004 to extend federal protection to the Green Belt and incorporate it into a "European Green Belt" being developed along the entire 6,800-kilometre (4,200mi) length of the former Iron Curtain. [139] A number of Allied military personnel, including British, French, German and United States troops, also defected. The Soviet zone became the German Democratic Republic (GDR), a communist state where voters were restricted to electing communist candidates. The fortifications were established in 1952 and reached a peak of complexity and lethality at the start of the 1980s. [122] Between 1964 and 1989, 33,755political prisoners were ransomed. [83] Its 20,000 personnel were equipped with armoured cars, anti-tank guns, helicopters, trucks and jeeps. [36] Reunification remained a theoretical objective for West Germany, but in practice that objective was put aside by the West and abandoned entirely by the East. The border region was progressively depopulated through the clearance of numerous villages and the forced relocation of their inhabitants. Its route has been declared part of a European Green Belt linking national parks and nature reserves along the course of the old Iron Curtain from the Arctic Circle to the Black Sea. The scale of the task was immense, involving both the clearing of the fortifications and the rebuilding of hundreds of roads and railway lines. We submitted a request for our reserve activities to be ended, which was approved a few days later. Nor could they be tunnelled under easily, as the bottom segment of the fences was partially buried in the ground. In February 1986, the regime relaxed the definition of "urgent family business", which prompted a massive increase in the number of East German citizens able to travel to the West. [148] An Italian truck driver and member of the Italian Communist Party was shot at a crossing point in August 1976; the GDR government was severely embarrassed and, unusually, offered an apology. Home to 1,9 million people, it is one of the country's largest. [49] The inhabitants of the East German village of Kella found themselves becoming a tourist attraction for Westerners in the 1970s and 1980s. World Cup in Germany First round, Group 1 in Hamburg: West Germany 0 - 1 East Germany - lineup of the East German team: Granek, Croy, Sparwasser,. They were used to resolve local problems affecting the border, such as floods, forest fires or stray animals. In exchange, West Germany paid over 3.4 billion DM nearly $2.3billion at 1990 prices in goods and hard currency. [31] Between 1949and the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961, an estimated 3.5million East Germans a sixth of the entire population emigrated to the West, most via Berlin. Photograph: Alamy One of the finest novels to characterise 19th-century Germany, Buddenbrooks was published in 1901, when Mann was 25. A regulation issued to East German police on 27May 1952 stipulated that "failure to obey the orders of the Border Patrol will be met by the use of arms." [132], Refugees used a variety of methods to escape across the border. Foreigners were able to cross East German territory to or from West Berlin, Denmark, Sweden, Poland and Czechoslovakia. A dense network of waterways characterizes the cityscape. They had to apply for an exit visa and passport, pay a substantial fee, obtain permission from their employer and undergo an interrogation from the police. And if you have VR glasses, you can watch the video in virtual reality. Telephone and mail communications operated throughout the Cold War, although packages and letters were routinely opened and telephone calls were monitored by the East German secret police. [14] Some culinary chefs have recently been reinventing the popular snack, lending it an international twist. The death of East German Heinz-Josef Groe in 1982 was commemorated annually by demonstrations on the Western side of the border. 35. [41], The GDR bore a huge economic cost for its creation of the border zone and the building and maintenance of its fortifications. [25], Border communities on both sides suffered acute disruption. [127], Attempts to flee across the border were carefully studied and recorded by the GDR authorities to identify possible weak points. [128], Escape attempts were severely punished by the GDR. [172], To the surprise of many West Germans, many of the East German visitors spent their DM 100 "welcome money" buying great quantities of bananas, a highly prized rarity in the East. [33] Nearly 1,300 kilometres (808mi) of new fencing was built, usually further back from the geographical line than the old barbed-wire fences. [citation needed], The BT-9 (Beobachtungsturm-9), a 9 m (30 ft)-high observation tower introduced in the mid-1970s as a more stable replacement for the BT-11[citation needed], A Fhrungsstelle or Kommandoturm, a tower 6 m (20 ft) high that doubled as observation tower and command centre[citation needed], An observation bunker, known as an Erdbunker, preserved at Observation Post Alpha, which accommodated one or two guards, A metal observation tower manned by three GDR guards. [7], The economic impact of the border was harsh. [85] The BZV's remit overlapped significantly with that of the BGS, which led to a degree of feuding between the two agencies. [120] A report for the Central Committee's security section noted: "The emigration problem is confronting us with a fundamental problem of the GDR's development. Germany Reunified under Auspices of the FRG, 1990-1991. Four stone memorials were erected in East Berlin to mark their deaths. Hessen Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine-Westphalia) Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt) Brandenburg Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein Saarland Bremen German States Map States of Germany and capitals Each state has a state capital. During World War II, carpet-bombing by Allied forces leveled up to 80 percent of the historic buildings in Germany's main cities in an unprecedented wave of destruction prompted by the no less. Since early 2017, concerts have been taking place in theElbphilharmonie, the newest landmark in Hamburg's harbor area. [180] A Treaty on the establishment of a unified Germany was agreed on in August 1990 and political reunification took place on 3 October 1990.[181]. It was marked by granite stones (Grenzsteine) with the letters "DDR" carved on the west-facing edge. Germany, (officially: the Federal Republic of Germany; German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the largest country in Central Europe.It is bordered to the north by Denmark, to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic, to the south by Austria and Switzerland, and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands.Germany is a federation of 16 states, roughly corresponding to regions . 48people (1%) were stopped i.e. When the trains passed through Dresden, 1,500East Germans stormed the main railway station in an attempt to board. In the Central German Uplands and the Alps, forests are particularly plentiful, but they are notably absent from the best agricultural land, such as the loess areas of the North German Plain. Since the Middle Ages, it has been an important trading center in Europe. [155], The fall of the inner German border came rapidly and unexpectedly in November 1989, along with the fall of the Berlin Wall. This led to tense confrontations as East or West German vessels sought to assert their right to free passage on the waterways. In the Miniatur-Wunderland in Hamburg's former warehouse district 1040 locomotives pull some 10,000 carriages over more than 15 kilometers of tracks, lined by thousands of houses, 269,000 figurines, 9250 vehicles and an incredible 13,000 tiny trees. [70], Some East Germans tried to escape by jumping overboard from East German ships docked in Baltic harbours. [133] Other escapees relied more on physical strength and endurance. It is also the least densely populated state in West Germany. Even during the Berlin Blockade of 1948, supplies could be brought in by air the famous Berlin Airlift. [101], Before 1952, the inner German border could be crossed at almost any point along its length. [69], Escapees aimed for the western (West German) shore of the Bay of Mecklenburg, a Danish lightship off the port of Gedser, the southern Danish islands of Lolland and Falster, or simply the international shipping lanes in the hope of being picked up by a passing freighter. [18] Between October 1945 and June 1946, 1.6million Germans left the Soviet zone for the west. have not brought the desired results, but rather the opposite." In July 1990, monetary union was achieved. Inspection pits and mirrors allowed the undersides of vehicles to be scrutinised. The zone consumed around 6,900 square kilometres (2,700sqmi) more than sixpercent of the East's territory,[43] within which economic activity was severely curtailed or ceased entirely. [170] The border was opened in stages over the next few months. [95], For many years, the two sides waged a propaganda battle across the border using propaganda signs and canisters of leaflets fired or dropped into each other's territory. [61], Anti-personnel mines were installed along approximately half of the border's length starting in 1966; by the 1980s, some 1.3million mines of various Soviet-made types had been laid. Former East Germany and West Germany. Another 600waterproof East German leaflet containers were recovered from cross-border rivers. "[122], Between 1950 and 1988, around four million East Germans migrated to the West; 3.454million left between 1950 and the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961. Farmers were permitted to work their fields along the border only in daylight hours and under the watch of armed guards, who were authorised to use weapons if their orders were not obeyed. We've got them:Tips for Germany state by state. For months after the opening of the border, bananas were sold out at supermarkets along the western side of the border as East Germans bought up whole crates, believing supplies would soon be exhausted. This enabled the guards to identify otherwise undetected escape attempts, recording how many individuals had crossed, where escape attempts were being made and at which times of day escapees were active. The mines were eventually removed by the end of 1984 in the face of international condemnation of the East German government. go to the north west and visit Hamburg, the center of Northern Germany, thereby stop in historical small cities like Luebeck or Lneburg. [64], Reconstruction of the "first-generation" fence as erected in 1952, with control strip in the foreground, The "second-generation" fences in 1962, with derelict barbed wire in the foreground, a control strip, two rows of barbed wire further back and a watchtower at the rear. East German memorial to border guard Waldemar Estel, who was shot on the border on 3September 1956. Both 61, they started arguing. [143] The GDR's leadership explicitly endorsed the use of deadly force. Refusal was often arbitrary, dependent on the goodwill of local officials. Crucially, it was neither meant to be an uncontrolled opening nor to apply to East Germans wishing to visit the West as tourists. East and West Germany play a soccer match for the only time in Hamburg, 1974. Around 1,000 two-man observation bunkers also stood along the length of the border. The zonal border is here") notified visitors of the presence of the border. [32], The inner German border system also extended along the Baltic coast, dubbed the "blue border" or sea border of the GDR. Visitors often sought to have a nude photograph taken below a looming East German watchtower; the West Germans noted "a lot more movement on that watchtower since the nudist beach opened. [116][117], The GDR's government nonetheless remained opposed to emigration and sought to dissuade would-be emigrs. [75] To prevent escape attempts, the East German river banks were barricaded with a continuous line of metal fences and concrete walls. Crowds of West Germans welcome East German Trabant drivers at the Helmstedt crossing, 11 November 1989, East and West Germans mingling in front of the newly opened border wall in Heinersdorf, Thuringia, 4 December 1989, Memorial to "the victims of inhumanity" at Rterberg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, View of border-related exhibits at the Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund in Thuringia, Fortifications of the inner German border, Escape attempts and victims of the inner German border, Opening of the border and the fall of the GDR, Joint statement of the Allied powers, 3 October 1954, quoted in, Official presentation of the text of the treaty as given by the United States - Department of State -, "The formalities to be carried out by citizens of the GDR wishing to enter the Federal Republic. In all, 189people are estimated to have died attempting to flee via the Baltic. An East German who escaped or was released to the West was automatically granted West German rights, including residence and the right to work; West German laws were deemed to be applicable in the East. Built by the East German government in phases from 1952 to the late 1980s,[2] the fortifications were constructed to stop Republikflucht, the large-scale emigration of East German citizens to the West, about 1,000 of whom are said to have died trying to cross it during its 45-year existence. In early 1989, East German economists calculated that each arrest cost the equivalent of 2.1million marks, three times the average "value" to the state of each working person. How long it will remain standing is unclear: because the new tall container ships no longer fit underneath, it isto be replaced by 2030 at the latest.