Editing Inner German border (section)

===Origins===
[[Image:Germany occupation zones with border.jpg|right|thumb|320px|alt=Map showing the Allied zones of occupation in post-war Germany, as well as the line of U.S. forward positions on V-E Day. The south-western part of the Soviet occupation zone, close to a third of its overall area was west of the U.S. forward positions on V-E day.|The Allied zones of occupation in post-war Germany, highlighting the Soviet zone (red), the inner German border (heavy black line) and the zone from which British and American troops withdrew in July 1945 (purple). The provincial boundaries are those of pre-Nazi [[Weimar Germany]], before the present ''[[Länder]]'' (federal states) were established.]]

The inner German border originated from the [[Allies of World War II|Second World War Allies']] plans to divide a defeated Germany into occupation zones.<ref name="Buchholz-56">[[#Buchholz|Buchholz (1994)]], p. 56.</ref> The boundaries between these zones were drawn along the territorial boundaries of 19th-century German states and provinces that had largely disappeared with the [[unification of Germany]] in 1871.<ref>[[#Faringdon|Faringdon (1986)]], p. 282.</ref> Three zones were agreed on, each covering roughly a third of Germany's territories: a [[British Occupation zone of Germany|British zone]] in the north-west, an [[American Occupation of Germany|American zone]] in the south and a [[Soviet occupation zone|Soviet zone]] in the east. France was later given a [[Monnet plan|zone]] in the far west of Germany, carved out of the British and American zones.<ref>[[#Weinberg|Weinberg (1995)]], p. 804.</ref>

The division of Germany was official on 1&nbsp;August 1945. Because of the unexpectedly rapid Allied advances through central Germany in the final weeks of the war, British and American troops occupied large areas of territory that had been assigned to the Soviet zone of occupation. The redeployment of Western troops prompted many Germans to flee west to escape the Russians' takeover of the remainder of the Soviet zone.<ref>[[#Shears|Shears (1970)]], p. 29.</ref>

The wartime Allies initially worked together under the auspices of the [[Allied Control Council]] (ACC) for Germany.<ref>[[#Osmanczyk|Osmańczyk; Mango (2004)]], p. 77.</ref>  Cooperation between the Western Allies and the Soviets ultimately broke down because of disagreements over Germany's political and economic future. In May 1949, the three western occupation zones were merged to form the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), a [[capitalist state]] with [[free and fair election]]s. The Soviet zone became the German Democratic Republic (GDR), a [[communist state]] where voters were restricted to electing communist candidates.<ref>[[#Shears|Shears (1970)]], p. 36.</ref>

From the outset, [[West Germany]] and the western Allies rejected [[East Germany]]'s legitimacy.<ref>Joint statement of the Allied powers, 3 October 1954, quoted in [[#Kindermann|Kindermann (1994)]], pp. 220–21.</ref> The creation of East Germany was deemed a communist ''fait accompli'', without a freely or fairly elected government. West Germany regarded German citizenship and rights as applying equally to East and West German citizens. An East German who escaped or was released to the West was automatically granted West German rights, including residence and the right to work; West German laws were deemed to be applicable in the East. East Germans thus had a powerful incentive to move to the West, where they would enjoy greater freedom and economic prospects.<ref name="Gress">[[#Gress|Gress (1985)]], pp. 15–16.</ref>
The East German government sought to define the country as a legitimate state in its own right<ref>[[#Loth|Loth (2004)]], p. 274.</ref> and portrayed West Germany as enemy territory (''feindliches Ausland'')&nbsp;– a capitalist, semi-[[fascist]] state that exploited its citizens, sought to regain the lost territories of the [[Third Reich]], and stood opposed to the peaceful socialism of the GDR.<ref>[[#Schweitzer|Schweitzer (1995)]], p. 50.</ref>