The inner German border was the frontier between the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) from 1949 to 1990. Not including the similar but physically separate Berlin Wall, the border was 1,381 kilometres (858 mi) long and ran from the Baltic Sea to Czechoslovakia. It was formally established on 1 July 1945 as the boundary between the Western and Soviet occupation zones of Germany. On the Eastern side, it was made one of the world's most heavily fortified frontiers, defined by a continuous line of high metal fences and walls, barbed wire, alarms, trenches, watchtowers, automatic booby-traps and minefields. The border was a physical manifestation of Winston Churchill's metaphor of an Iron Curtain separating the Soviet and Western blocs during the Cold War. Built by East Germany in phases from 1952 to the late 1980s, the fortifications were constructed to stop the large-scale emigration of East German citizens to the West. It caused widespread economic and social disruption on both sides. On 9 November 1989, the East German government announced the opening of the Berlin Wall and the inner German border. The inner German border was not completely abandoned until 1 July 1990, exactly 45 years to the day since its establishment, and only three months before German reunification formally ended Germany's division. Little remains today of the inner German border's fortifications.
Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inner_German_border
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1330:
The Battle of Posada between Basarab I of Wallachia and Charles I Robert of Hungary began near the present-day border of Oltenia and Severin, Romania. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Posada
1861:
The first documented Canadian football match was played at University College, University of Toronto. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_football
1938:
Kristallnacht began in Nazi Germany as a part of Adolf Hitler's anti-Semitic policy, leading to the murder of over 90 Jews, and the arrest and deportation of over 25,000 others to concentration camps. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristallnacht
1953:
Cambodia gained independence from France and became a constitutional monarchy under King Norodom Sihanouk. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodia
1967:
Rolling Stone, the American-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics and popular culture, was first published. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_Stone
1993:
War in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Croatian Defence Council forces destroyed the Stari most, a 16th-century bridge crossing the river Neretva in the city of Mostar. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stari_most
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
charabanc (n): A horse-drawn, and then later, motorized omnibus with open sides and, often, no roof http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/charabanc
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Every one of us is precious in the cosmic perspective. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies, you will not find another. --Carl Sagan http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan