ABSTRACT
In a pithy formulation, President Ronald Reagan argued that a state that is unable to control its borders ceases to function as a state. Loose, porous borders lead to a decline in effective policing, fatally undermining legitimacy. Attempts to establish a planned economy in the GDR were continually undermined by the existence of a free market in the middle of the new state. West Berlin not only pumped out harmful propaganda, but also drained away valuable resources and manpower. Over the course of the 1950s, the act of crossing the border became increasingly politicized and criminalized. With the wall, the border became one of the most difficult state boundaries to cross. Nevertheless damming up the entire border was a massive undertaking. To the regime leaders’ fury, even with the building of the wall, the border remained somewhat permeable. Some leakage continued in spite of the huge and brutal effort at containment.
