Border Crossing

Between May 1952 and November 1989 almost 900 people were killed while trying to cross the border that separated the two German states. The so-called “Staatsgrenze West” was heavily guarded and reinforced with a protective strip, equipped with 1.3 million anti-personnel mines and other potentially lethal weapons. The German Democratic Republic (GDR), as East Germany used to call itself, put a great effort in preventing their people from leaving the state territory - thus, the number of refugees who actually succeeded in crossing the fence was quite small. A study from the late 1970s, carried out by the East German army, found that almost 5,000 people had attempted to escape across the border between 1974 and 1979. More than 200 of them died or were caught at the fence. Most others were captured in the “Sperrzone”, a three kilometer wide area east of the fence. Today, the Berlin Wall Memorial commemorates the victims of the regime. In 2012, the series was shown in an exhibition at Lightbox Gallery, Vienna. In 2015, it was shown as an installation at the exhibition "In Recent Years" at The Ballery, Berlin. Cast: Theresa Glanzberg, Falko Hartmann Light Assistants: Ingo Heye, Nils Herres Make-up Artists: Janine Drost, Sigune Roloff Set Assistant: Lea Lassak All pictures printed on Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308.