Czechoslovakian border fortifications during the Cold War
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The protection of borders between the
Czechoslovak Socialist Republic The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, ČSSR, formerly known from 1948 to 1960 as the Czechoslovak Republic or Fourth Czechoslovak Republic, was the official name of Czechoslovakia from 1960 to 29 March 1990, when it was renamed the Czechoslovak ...
(CSSR) and
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of
Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
, namely with
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
and
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, in the Cold War era and especially after 1951, was provided by special troops of the Pohraniční Stráž ( en, the Border Guard) and system of engineer equipment which created the real " Iron Curtain". The purpose was to prevent citizens of the Eastern Bloc escaping to the West, although official reports stated it was to keep the enemy's spies and saboteurs out of Czechoslovakia. The border system of Czechoslovakia was not as elaborate and fortified as that of the Inner German border or the Berlin Wall, but it was considered difficult to cross the border undetected.


History and development

After
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
the original borders of Czechoslovakia were restored and special units of police ( SNB) were established to protect the borders together with the army. In this time the main goal of the border protection force was to ensure that the expelled German civil population of the border areas (3,6 Million people) could not return. Thus to stabilize the situation after the ethnic cleansing of the formerly German inhabited border areas. Therefore, some hundred empty villages in the border areas have been raised to the ground to create an uninhabited easy controllable border strip. Following the Communist takeover in the government, thousands of opponents of the communist regime tried to escape the country. For individuals or small groups it was quite easy to avoid the guards and cross the borders, though it was dangerous if they were spotted, as the guards were allowed to shoot the escapees on sight. About 10,000 people, including 50 prominent politicians, crossed the borders in the first year after the political change. Subsequently, the independent HQ of Border Guard was created, but the number of staff was nearly the same (about 6,000 men) as the detection of potential emigrants by regular police was preferred. The so-called "forbidden zone" was established up to from the border in which no civilians could reside. A wider region, so called "border zone" also existed, up to from the border, in which no "disloyal" or "suspect" civilians could reside or work. For example, the entire Aš-Bulge creating the most problematic part of the border territory fell within the border zone. Substantial changes occurred by the end of 1951, after several successful attempts of mass escape. The Border Guard was reorganised into two
brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. B ...
s with headquarters in
Cheb Cheb (; german: Eger) is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 30,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Ohře. Before the 1945 expulsion of the German-speaking population, the town was the centre of the German-s ...
and
Znojmo Znojmo (; german: Znaim) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. Znojmo is the historical and cultural centre of southwestern Moravia and the second most populated town in the South Moravian ...
, and the number of members increased to 17,000. Finally, the real iron containment by means of engineer equipment was built. From 1951 onwards, this area was guarded by a signal fence some kilometres inside the border, while the border itself was secured by a guarded strip with a single barbed wire fence. This fence, originally an electric fence with a voltage of 5000 V, was replaced starting in 1968 by a double wire mesh fence similar to that used on the Inner German border. In addition, the border was fitted with watch towers. In contrast with the concrete towers used in East Germany, these towers were usually made of wood or steel. In some areas several types of land mine were used, notably PP Mi-Ba, PP Mi-D, and PP Mi. The barrier typically lay around inside the actual boundary line. As the fence was not visible from there at some places, curious or careless West German strollers often overlooked border markers and mistakenly entered Czechoslovak territory, leading to their arrest. Occurrences such as the drama at the West German embassy in
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
, where thousands of East Germans were hiding, wore down the patience of the Czechoslovak authorities, who eventually gave in, allowed all East Germans travel directly to West Germany from 3 November 1989, thus breaking the Iron Curtain. On 17 November 1989, the
Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...
took place. The barbed wire on the borders with East Germany and Austria was removed from 5 December onward, and from 11 December the Czechoslovak fortifications on the West German border were dismantled. The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, and Austria are now all part of the
Schengen Agreement The Schengen Agreement ( , ) is a treaty which led to the creation of Europe's Schengen Area, in which internal border checks have largely been abolished. It was signed on 14 June 1985, near the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, by five of the t ...
, which allows border crossing without identity checks.


See also

*
Czechoslovak border fortifications during the Cold War The Czechoslovak border fortifications were built in the period 1946-1964 along the south and south-western frontier, on the common border with the capitalist countries of West Germany and Austria. Unlike the Czechoslovakian section of the Iron C ...
* Velvet Revolution: key events of the following weeks. *
Operation Border Stone Operation Border Stone, also known as Operation Kamen ( cs, Akce Kámen) was an operation of the intelligence services of the Czechoslovak Republic during the Cold War, lasting from 1948 to 1951. According to some sources, the operation continued un ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Czechoslovakian Border Fortifications During The Cold War Borders of Czechoslovakia Borders of West Germany Austria–Czech Republic border Austria–Slovakia border Czechoslovakia–Germany relations Buildings and structures demolished in 1989 Cold War fortifications