1 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:12,350 This border cuts through Germany. 2 00:00:12,535 --> 00:00:16,535 It separates East and West, communism and democracy. 3 00:00:16,535 --> 00:00:18,155 It has only one purpose: 4 00:00:18,625 --> 00:00:21,145 To keep the citizens of the GDR, in the East, 5 00:00:21,155 --> 00:00:24,385 from fleeing to the Federal Republic of Germany. 6 00:00:26,908 --> 00:00:29,908 WALLED IN! The inner German border 7 00:00:32,871 --> 00:00:35,661 Berlin is located n the heart of the GDR. 8 00:00:35,663 --> 00:00:38,223 The city is divided into four sectors 9 00:00:38,223 --> 00:00:39,923 since the end of the Second World War. 10 00:00:39,923 --> 00:00:43,053 In 1961, the Western sectors were 11 00:00:43,053 --> 00:00:46,843 12 00:00:46,854 --> 00:00:48,574 The Wall. 13 00:00:53,719 --> 00:00:57,879 East Berlin, early 80s. 14 00:01:00,042 --> 00:01:03,012 This street leads to the border with West Berlin. 15 00:01:03,022 --> 00:01:05,704 One needs special authorization to come here, 16 00:01:05,704 --> 00:01:07,984 to visit the cemetery on the left, for example. 17 00:01:07,984 --> 00:01:11,364 It is located within the border area since the wall was built. 18 00:01:20,077 --> 00:01:22,937 Here begin the actual border barriers. 19 00:01:22,943 --> 00:01:25,763 To proceed is life-threatening. 20 00:01:31,246 --> 00:01:33,376 What lies behind this first wall 21 00:01:33,376 --> 00:01:37,376 is something no usual GDR citizen can enter: 22 00:01:39,928 --> 00:01:42,978 the strictly guarded border strip. 23 00:01:43,068 --> 00:01:47,068 24 00:01:47,202 --> 00:01:49,642 It is permanently under construction. 25 00:01:53,193 --> 00:01:55,749 The surveillance trail outside the border strip 26 00:01:55,749 --> 00:01:58,002 is controlled not only by soldiers, but also 27 00:01:58,002 --> 00:01:59,841 by the People's Police and others. 28 00:02:00,221 --> 00:02:02,509 Flight prevention in the GDR: 29 00:02:02,509 --> 00:02:05,509 an extravagant, costly initiative. 30 00:02:13,345 --> 00:02:15,670 Two soldiers watch over 200 meters 31 00:02:15,670 --> 00:02:16,980 in this area. 32 00:02:17,454 --> 00:02:18,954 Altogether, the border troops in Berlin 33 00:02:18,954 --> 00:02:21,364 amount to about 12.000 men. 34 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:27,500 The next obstacle: the signalling fence. 35 00:02:28,141 --> 00:02:31,362 When grabbed, it triggers a silent alarm. 36 00:02:39,166 --> 00:02:42,621 In the watchtower, the soldiers immediately see where the fence was touched. 37 00:02:42,956 --> 00:02:45,749 A fugitive doesn't realize it, but the guards have already spotted him. 38 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:49,520 From their tower, they can alert other border soldiers. 39 00:02:58,751 --> 00:03:01,097 By night, the border is illuminated as bright as day. 40 00:03:01,702 --> 00:03:04,287 In the West, this area is known as the "Death Strip". 41 00:03:05,046 --> 00:03:08,958 Here sentinels shoot fugitives as a last resort. 42 00:03:09,841 --> 00:03:14,046 In the Berlin Wall alone, at least 136 are killed. 43 00:03:22,532 --> 00:03:25,994 In the middle of the border zone, the Church of Atonement. 44 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The Wall separated it from its congregation, settled in the western side of the city, for the most part. 45 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The regime of the GDR had the church imploded in 1985. 46 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Possible reason: it makes the border confusing. 47 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 These obstacles force all vehicles to stop, both fugitives and border soldiers. 48 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 On the other side lies a steel carpet made of fourteen centimeter long spikes. 49 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In the West it is called "Stalin's grass". The GDR border guards refer to it as "asparagus board". 50 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The soil is flattened regularly. 51 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So that each fugitive leaves behind footprints. 52 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And this is the famous Berlin Wall: 53 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 3.60 meters tall, the last obstacle before the West. 54 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The west-side of the Wall still belongs to the GDR, 55 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Border soldiers can only open them in pairs. 56 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That's how they control the condition of the other side of the Wall. 57 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 On many street intersections 58 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In case of war, this is where the Panzers would burst through.