Worker Sprinkling Chemicals Along the Berlin Wall

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Description

The original caption for this photograph reads: “Death Strip” — Although he resembles a farmer sowing seed, this East German workman is sprinkling chemicals to kill weeds in the “death strip” along the Communist built wall in East Berlin. The strip was cleared to provide a field of fire for Communist border guards seeking to shoot down East Germans escaping to freedom in West Berlin.

Citation

This primary source comes from the Records of the U.S. Information Agency.

National Archives Identifier: 6003247

Full Citation: 306-BN-96-63-4850; ‘Death Strip’; 8/1961; Photographs Relating to World War II, the Cold War, and U.S. – West German Diplomatic, Economic, and Military Contacts, ca. 1951 – 1994; Records of the U.S. Information Agency, Record Group 306; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/document/chemicals-berlin-wall/, April 18, 2026]

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