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5: CASE STUDY 2: THE CZECH/AUSTRIAN BORDER<br />
extensive electricity infrastructure had to be developed along the fences. In<br />
1966 the high voltage current was turned off and a signalling fence system<br />
replaced it. There is likely to have been several factors for turning off the<br />
high voltage current. One was that it was very dangerous to the soldiers<br />
maintaining the fences causing many accidents, several with a lethal<br />
outcome. The cost of the electrical fences was also very high, for example<br />
copper had to be sourced and bought from Hungary, and the government<br />
wanted to prioritise other areas of spending (Vaňek, 2010, pers. comm.7 th<br />
December). It is also of note that the move away from electrical fence<br />
towards using a signalling one happened during the period of political<br />
thawing when policies were somewhat more relaxed.<br />
Guardians of the border<br />
Keeping the border zones under complete surveillance required large<br />
amounts of manpower. The border was constantly patrolled by border<br />
guards and border guard stations were located along the entire<br />
Czechoslovakian border. These were established in the early 1950s and<br />
although they varied somewhat in size they all had a very similar set-up.<br />
Some border guard stations were housed in already existing buildings whilst<br />
others were built new. In the study area there were three border guard<br />
stations: Hájenka, Čižov and Lukov. The compounds had several functional<br />
purposes. There were kitchen and storage areas, offices, garages and<br />
workshops at the compound. Dogs, mostly German Shepherds and<br />
Rottweilers, were used as part of the safeguarding of the borders and the<br />
dog kennels were usually located slightly away from the other buildings.<br />
There were also sleeping quarters for the soldiers as they stayed at the<br />
station during their service. Officers were given accommodation off the<br />
compound in nearby villages. Border guards were often placed at a station<br />
located far away from their home so that they would not know the local<br />
people. Most of the soldiers from Slovakia served in the army in what is<br />
now the Czech Republic. Service was part of the obligatory two years of<br />
service that had to be served in the army. Service commenced around the<br />
age of 18–20 depending on a person’s studies. There were two dates to join<br />
each year, 1 st of April and 1 st of October. Special military trains took the<br />
men to their place of service.<br />
Jozef, a man in his early 60s answered my note asking to get in contact<br />
with former border guards on the Army Forum website and subsequently<br />
shared his experiences with me. He was a border guard between 1972 and<br />
1974. He remembers: “A military train left the station in Presov [Slovakia]<br />
141