Editing Inner German border (section)

===1952–67: the "Special Regime"===
The relative openness of the border ended abruptly on 26&nbsp;May 1952 when the GDR implemented a "special regime on the demarcation line", justified as a measure to keep out "spies, diversionists, terrorists and smugglers".<ref name="Stacy-50">[[#Stacy|Stacy (1984)]], p. 50.</ref> The East German move was taken to limit the continuing exodus of its citizens, which threatened the viability of the GDR's economy.<ref>[[#Shears|Shears (1970)]], p. 37.</ref>

A ploughed strip 10&nbsp;m (32.8&nbsp;ft) wide was created along the entire length of the inner German border. An adjoining "protective strip" (''Schutzstreifen'') 500&nbsp;m (1,640&nbsp;ft) wide was placed under tight control. A "restricted zone" (''Sperrzone'') a further 5&nbsp;km (3.1&nbsp;mile) wide was created in which only those holding a special permit could live or work. Trees and brush were cut down along the border to clear lines of sight for the guards and to eliminate cover for would-be crossers. Houses adjoining the border were torn down, bridges were closed and barbed-wire fencing was put up in many places. Farmers were permitted to work their fields along the border only in daylight hours and under the watch of armed guards, who were authorised to use weapons if their orders were not obeyed.<ref name="Stacy-50" />

Border communities on both sides suffered acute disruption. Farms, coal mines and even houses were split in two by the sudden closure of the border.<ref>[[#ManchesterGuardian|''Manchester Guardian'' (1952-06-09)]]</ref><ref>[[#Cramer|Cramer (2008)]], p. 143.</ref> More than 8,300 East German civilians living along the border were forcibly resettled in a programme codenamed "Operation Vermin" (''Aktion Ungeziefer'').<ref>[[#Berdahl|Berdahl (1999)]], p. 67.</ref> Another 3,000&nbsp;residents, realising they were about to be expelled from their homes, fled to the West.<ref name="Cramer-15" /> The seal around the country was expanded in July 1962 when the GDR declared its entire [[Baltic Sea|Baltic coast]] a border zone subject to closures and restrictions.<ref name="Times-Baltic">[[#TimesBaltic|''The Times'' (1962-07-21)]].</ref>

The border between East and West Berlin was also significantly tightened, although not fully closed; East Germans were still able to cross into West Berlin, which then became the main route by which East Germans migrated to the West.<ref name="Maddrell">[[#Maddrell|Maddrell (2006)]], pp. 54, 56.</ref> Between 1949&nbsp;and the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961, an estimated 3.5&nbsp;million East Germans&nbsp;– a sixth of the entire population&nbsp;– emigrated to the West, most via Berlin.<ref name="Maddrell" />