Wachtürmen der Deutsch–Deutsche Grenze
"Watchtowers of the Inner German Border"
The Iron Curtain that divided Europe throughout the Cold War as Churchill put it "from Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic” cut Germany in half, nowhere in Europe was the Iron Curtain as tangible. When Sir Winston Churchill made his famous speech in Fulton Missouri on the 5th of March 1946 the “Iron Curtain” was all but a metaphor for the Capitalist-Communist splitting of Europe after the Second World War. However when the East German government decided to stem the hemorrhage of intellectuals fleeing from East to West Germany by closing the borders between East and West Berlin on the 13th August 1961 the Iron Curtain became an all too real, physical entity.
The Berlin Wall as it was to become known was hastily created out of barbed wire and logs, shortly before a more permanent concrete one was constructed. However the Berlin Wall which surrounded the entirety of West Berlin and was to become the definitive aspect of the Cold War for many people , was not the only wall or mauer erected in Germany. In 1952 work began on another wall made of both concrete, like the Berlin Wall and of mesh fencing topped with barbed wire and incorporating spring guns, land mines and dog runs. This wall was to become known to Germans as the “Inner Deutsche Grenze”, “Deutsch-Deutsche Grenze” or simply as the Grenze.
The Grenze was 1,381 Kilometers long and ran from Potenitz near Hamburg south to Mittelhammer near the Czech Border, nearly 10 times the length of the Berlin Wall. Despite this many people outside of German had no idea how fortified the border was. As well as the fence and spring guns mentioned above the East German Grenztruppen der DDR (the East German Border Guards) sowed minefields along the entire length and erected over 700 Watchtowers with 1000 Watt searchlights, anti-vehicle ditches and detection strips from 1962 onwards.
There are different types of watchtower, however most were built from a standard pattern with some receiving modifications where necessary. The main types were; the BT-9, tall, square and slender with a viewing platform 9 metres above the ground. The BT-11 which is an octagonal viewing box sitting 11 metres above the ground mounted upon a round concrete pole. The kommandoturm, this was a larger structure designed to provide a command function for an area of the Grenze, these had cells and communications equipment that allowed the tower to call for support from the local Grenztruppen Barracks.
The images shown here are part of a project to document what is left 20 years after the reunification of Germany in October 1990. Many watchtowers have been demolished, some remain as monuments and museum pieces others have had attempts made to convert them into homes. Most however sit forlornly in fields along the Grenze.
The Iron Curtain that divided Europe throughout the Cold War as Churchill put it "from Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic” cut Germany in half, nowhere in Europe was the Iron Curtain as tangible. When Sir Winston Churchill made his famous speech in Fulton Missouri on the 5th of March 1946 the “Iron Curtain” was all but a metaphor for the Capitalist-Communist splitting of Europe after the Second World War. However when the East German government decided to stem the hemorrhage of intellectuals fleeing from East to West Germany by closing the borders between East and West Berlin on the 13th August 1961 the Iron Curtain became an all too real, physical entity.
The Berlin Wall as it was to become known was hastily created out of barbed wire and logs, shortly before a more permanent concrete one was constructed. However the Berlin Wall which surrounded the entirety of West Berlin and was to become the definitive aspect of the Cold War for many people , was not the only wall or mauer erected in Germany. In 1952 work began on another wall made of both concrete, like the Berlin Wall and of mesh fencing topped with barbed wire and incorporating spring guns, land mines and dog runs. This wall was to become known to Germans as the “Inner Deutsche Grenze”, “Deutsch-Deutsche Grenze” or simply as the Grenze.
The Grenze was 1,381 Kilometers long and ran from Potenitz near Hamburg south to Mittelhammer near the Czech Border, nearly 10 times the length of the Berlin Wall. Despite this many people outside of German had no idea how fortified the border was. As well as the fence and spring guns mentioned above the East German Grenztruppen der DDR (the East German Border Guards) sowed minefields along the entire length and erected over 700 Watchtowers with 1000 Watt searchlights, anti-vehicle ditches and detection strips from 1962 onwards.
There are different types of watchtower, however most were built from a standard pattern with some receiving modifications where necessary. The main types were; the BT-9, tall, square and slender with a viewing platform 9 metres above the ground. The BT-11 which is an octagonal viewing box sitting 11 metres above the ground mounted upon a round concrete pole. The kommandoturm, this was a larger structure designed to provide a command function for an area of the Grenze, these had cells and communications equipment that allowed the tower to call for support from the local Grenztruppen Barracks.
The images shown here are part of a project to document what is left 20 years after the reunification of Germany in October 1990. Many watchtowers have been demolished, some remain as monuments and museum pieces others have had attempts made to convert them into homes. Most however sit forlornly in fields along the Grenze.