Border area

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The border area is a region that lies directly on the border of a state. In addition to the informal definition, a border area can have a legal definition and delimitation, both domestically and on the basis of bilateral agreements with the neighboring country. Reasons for the legal delimitation of a border area include increased security and special provisions for residents of border areas to cross the border ( small border traffic ).

In the United States , a 100-mile border zone (about 161 km) was created, in which the employees of the US Customs and Border Protection are authorized to stop and search people and means of transport without suspicion (see also: Border between the United States and Mexico ).

In Germany, this area is now referred to as the border area , Section 14 of the Customs Administration Act (ZollVG) ; see also customs border district .

For the members of the Schengen area , the regulation for local border traffic at the external borders established a border area that may extend for a maximum of 50 km on both sides of the border. An exception is made for Kaliningrad Oblast (see the " Border between Poland and Russia " article for details.)

In the Soviet Union in the inter and post-war period , the border areas were subject to strict controls by members of the " Fifth Column " who were supposed to protect against allegedly potential enemies through ethnic cleansing . ; see Displacements and Forced Settlements in the USSR for details.

In May 1952, the GDR leadership sealed off their country with a five-kilometer-wide exclusion zone along the inner-German border between the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany. This facility served to hinder the freedom of movement , criminalized in the GDR as " unlawful border crossing ". The restricted area consisted of a “10 m control strip (KS) directly along the border”, a 500 m wide “ protective strip ” and a “5 km restricted zone” (from 1972: 3–5 km). To secure the border protection measures, residents near the border were partially resettled, sometimes by force. Private visits to the area required a permit and were subject to strict conditions.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ EU: Correction of Regulation (EC) No. 1931/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of December 20, 2006 laying down rules on local border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States and amending the provisions of the Schengen Agreement. Official Journal of the European Union, December 30, 2006, accessed June 27, 2019 .
  2. ^ Pavel Polian : Against Their Will. CEU-Press, 2004, accessed on June 26, 2019 (English, A History and Geography of Forced Migration in the USSR).
  3. ^ Hermann Weber : The GDR 1945–1990 (=  Oldenbourg outline of history . Volume 20). 5th edition. Oldenbourg, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-486-70440-2 . P. 46.