Central (C): Germany (CG). Incidents Along Demarcation Line

A file containing documents relating to incidents at the boundary between West Germany and the Soviet zone. Incidents covered include the shooting dead of a West German journalist by the East German police; discussion of Allied approaches to the Soviet authorities to prevent the laying of further minefields; and the shooting dead of a West Berliner who was trying to help escapees through a tunnel in East German territory. Other matters discussed include the correct Soviet authorities with which to lodge protests about border incidents; further incidents in which shots were fired across the inter-zonal boundary, and in which East German frontier police arrested people technically on West German territory; the laying of buoys on a border lake to indicate a safe boundary for sailing boats; and Western guesses about the rules East German border guards were given about when to fire across the border.