| As part of the border restriction decrees of 1952, a five kilometer wide security belt was established along the border to restrict access into the area. Known as the Hinterland, the residents in this zone dealt with a series of regulations and restrictions designed to ensure there would be no escape attempts. | ||
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To live in the Hinterland a person had to be considered politically reliable or at least not have been involved in any criminal or anti-government activities. Since entry into the area was guarded by check points, special identity cards that granted entry into the zone were given to the inhabitants. No visitors were allowed unless they had permission of the Mayor, Police, and the local Border Commander. For this reason it was often easier for the citizens of the Hinterland to conduct weddings and other social activities outside the zone since it was extremely difficult to have outside visitors attend. |
The Hinterland village of Hermannsfeld in thre 2/11 ACR sector. The Signal Fence is in the foreground by the plowed area. - TDP |
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village within the Hinterland faced some challenges. First of all there
were border guards present at all times depending on the community's proximity to the border. In some villages there were one
or two guards at all times, but during heightened security there
could be as many as six or eight soldiers. The residents of the
border villages also had to deal with curfews which were in effect at
all times. In addition to these conditions, there was always the
possibility that residents could be expelled from the Hinterland area if
they were considered to a be an escape risk or politically unreliable.
As an
interesting side note, in a further effort to complicate escape attempts the
East German government removed road signs leading to the Hinterland villages and
in some cases removed the towns from maps. |
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Although
living in the Hinterland was certainly not easy, sometimes it had its
advantages. To compensate for the restrictions
the Hinterland residents were granted greater access to consumer goods and
building materials for their homes. Of course, that was provided the goods were available.
Right: A checkpoint before entering the 5 Kilometer Zone. - photo by Guenther Mach |
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