ABSTRACT
After the forced collectivization of agriculture in Schleiz County in April 1960, villagers went to work in the farms. During the following months, county officials reported that "lately there has been intensified work of the enemies in the county". After the April 1960 forced collectivization, the first months of collective work were particularly rocky. Schleiz County officials witnessed dissatisfaction among borderland farmers, a product of the forced collectivization. A second resettlement action would send a message to those East German citizens considering fleeing that border security measures were tougher than ever. The removal of potentially dangerous elements as defined by the East German state from the border in the name of security was the central objective of the second operation, like the first. By the second half of 1961, a wall had just been built through Berlin and with its completion came the threat of refugees flooding across the western border into the Federal Republic.
