Editing Inner German border (section)

===Restricted zone===
A person attempting to make an illegal crossing of the inner German border around 1980, travelling from east to west, would first come to the "restricted zone" (''Sperrzone''). This was a {{convert|5|km|mi}} wide area running parallel to the border to which access was heavily restricted. Its inhabitants could only enter and leave using special permits, were not permitted to travel to other villages within the zone, and were subjected to nighttime curfews.<ref name="Rottman-20-21" /><ref>[[#Allinson|Allinson (2000)]], p. 125.</ref><ref name="Buchholz-57">[[#Buchholz|Buchholz (1994)]], p. 57.</ref> It was not fenced off but access roads were blocked by checkpoints.<ref name="Rottman-23">[[#Rottman|Rottman (2008)]], p. 23.</ref>

On the far side of the ''Sperrzone'' was the signal fence (''Signalzaun''), a continuous [[expanded metal]] fence {{convert|1185|km|mi}} long and {{convert|2|m|ft}} high. The fence was lined with low-voltage electrified strands of [[barbed wire]]. When the wire was touched or cut, an alarm was activated to alert nearby guards.<ref name="Rottman-29">[[#Rottman|Rottman (2008)]], p. 29.</ref>