--- In BoundaryPoint@y..., "David Birch" <dbirch@c...> wrote:
> I'd be interested to know how maintenance work was carried out on
the
> railway line which ran through Steinstücken. Was the short section
> through West Berlin territory shown on Peter's map maintained by
East
> German workers of the Deutsche Reichsbahn, or were staff brought
from
> West Berlin? I assume it was the latter!
No. The workers came from East Germany. This was not only the case in
Steinstuecken, but also in West Berlin proper. Although the DR did
employ West Berliners, too. But the East Berlin workers were really
hand-picked, thoroughly West-resistent, and anyway probably would get
their family in big trouble if they fled.
Acc. to Catudal, the DR owned the tracks, but because the DR itself
was a GDR state company, the GDR tried to extend the ownership to
sovereignty, which would have left many W. Berlin enclaves, cut up by
a big number of Vennbahns. In October 1961, French troops occupied a
water tower, which was standing on DR property, but in W. Berlin
(very close to the border, to be sure). The East Germans had
painted "DDR" on the tower and displayed a flag on the building. The
French brought down the flag, and painted over one "D". So it
became "DR".
This story is from a great book:
Rainer Hildebrandt, Es geschah an der Mauer/It happened at the
wall/Cela s'est passe au mur (Katalog zur Ausstellung der
Arbeitsgemeinschaft 13. August: "DIE MAUER - Vom 13. August bis zu
ihrem Fall" im "Haus am Checkpoint Charlie"), 19. Auflage, Mai 2000,
Verlag Haus am Checkpoint Charlie.
Since some of you are visiting Berlin during the GCEBE, it might be
an idea to buy it. In Berlin I saw many books about the wall on sale.
What I did'nt see, however, were good maps from the time. But I
didn't really look for it that well, I must add.
Peter S.