To a Better Life
by Dennis Lundell
Title
To a Better Life
Artist
Dennis Lundell
Medium
Digital Art - Digital Art / Photograpy
Description
When Germany was divided into East and West during the period between 1945 and 1989 it was physically separated by a series of high fences running 1,393 km from the northern end to the southern end of the country. Built by East Germany, the German Democratic Republic, its primary purpose was to keep people from defecting to the West.
Known as the Inner German Border, it consisted mainly of a pair of 4m high, expanded metal fences topped with barbed wire and separated by 500 to 1,000 meters. The space in between was booby-trapped with landmines and heavily guarded. Observation towers with powerful searchlights were constructed at regular intervals. These were constructed up to two kilometers inside East Germany.
I was lucky enough to visit an area of the border twice, once a few years before the reunification of East and West (1986, I think) and once a few years after (1993). This was near the city of Fulda. The first time, of course, the border was up and fully functional. One could see it only from a significant distance. The second time was far different. The observation towers were badly vandalized and quite accessible from the road. Fences were partially torn down and one could walk around the area, although there were signs that warned of landmines in the area that might have been missed when they were collected earlier.
This is a view from inside an observation tower on the western side looking through the broken window toward West Germany and, for a defecting East German, a much better life. The lucky few (about 95% of those attempting to escape were killed or captured) who got past the observation tower were greeted by beautiful rolling hills. It might be best to move quickly, however, as there might be a kilometer or two to go before being technically in West Germany.
Featured in the group Fine Arts America Professionals.
Uploaded
May 27th, 2020
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