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innerdeutsche

Innerdeutsche Grenze, commonly translated as the inner German border, referred to the fortified boundary and security system between the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) during the Cold War. It existed from the establishment of two German states in 1949 until German reunification in 1990. The border stretched roughly 1,400 kilometers from the Baltic Sea in the north to the border with Czechoslovakia in the south and also encompassed the ring around West Berlin.

The system consisted of multiple layers of defenses, including fences or walls, watchtowers, tripwires, minefields, vehicle

A notable component was the Berlin Wall, erected in 1961 to prevent East Germans from fleeing via

Following the peaceful revolution in East Germany and the political process of reunification, the border largely

barriers,
and
a
no-man's
land
known
as
the
death
strip.
It
was
patrolled
by
the
East
German
border
guards,
later
the
Grenztruppen
der
DDR,
with
tens
of
thousands
of
personnel
at
peak.
Crossing
points
were
established
for
transit,
trade,
and
travel,
but
free
movement
was
tightly
restricted.
West
Berlin.
The
Wall
and
related
barriers
were
gradually
dismantled
after
1989
amid
political
changes
and
popular
protests.
ceased
to
exist
on
3
October
1990.
The
fortifications
were
removed,
and
the
former
border
area
was
integrated
into
a
single
German
territory.
The
legacy
of
the
inner
German
border
remains
a
central
symbol
of
the
Cold
War.