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3: THE MATERIALITY OF THE BERLIN WALL
allowed to enter. There were also signs in German, English, French and
Russian stating “Frontier area – Passage not allowed” (Klausmeier and
Schmidt 2004:22). Although no signs were recorded in the archaeological
survey many of the pillars and railings were found still scattered along the
border landscape. Some of these have been reused, for example incorporated
into fencing to adjoining properties (Klausmeier and Schmidt
2004:229).
The so called ‘perimeter defences’ were located in connection with and
to reinforce the hinterland wall. This was the most eastern facing wall,
constructed with prefabricated concrete sections with a white oblong surrounded
by a grey frame. The side of the hinterland wall facing westward
was painted white to make it easier to spot any unauthorised persons within
this restricted border strip. In some places already existing walls or sides of
buildings were incorporated into the hinterland wall. The perimeter
defences were located to reinforce the hinterland wall where the topography
was particularly difficult and consisted of extra walls, fences and various
obstacles such as the so-called flower bowl barricades, large concrete flower
pots placed so that it would be impossible to drive into the wall with a heavy
vehicle. There were also metal grids on windows located near the hinterland
wall and anti-climb features such as spiky objects.
Much of what remains of the wall in the townscape today is related to
either the perimeter defences or the hinterland wall. Large sections of hinterland
wall can be seen in several places (for examples see Klausmeier and
Schmidt 2004:62 and 91). As this wall was not of interest to the so called
Wallpeckers, who with their pneumatic hammers chipped away at the border
following its fall in 1989, many sections or remains have survived.
Although they may be harder to spot there are also many of the perimeter
defences still located throughout the former route of the border. As these
were much less obvious they also became less important to remove during
the clean-up operations in the early 1990s. These remains such as the steel
arrows located on top of a gate near the border defences by Ostbahnhof
Station in the area Mitte (Klausmeier and Schmidt 2004:188) or the metal
rods barring the windows at a power station at Kopenhagener Strasse in
Pankow (Klausmeier and Schmidt 2004:55) are important to show the
extent and the variety of the border fortifications.
The signalling fence was the next hurdle to get over after the hinterland
wall for anyone trying to escape this route. The signalling fence was more
elastic than other fences making it harder to climb (Klausmeier and
Schmidt 2004:22). These fences have been reused as garden fences and they
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