Border at Hirschberg an der Saale (1964) The GDR began tightening up the inner-German border as early as 1952. In the process, numerous traffic links between the East and West were severed. Moreover, no efforts were made to repair infrastructure that had been destroyed during the war. This photograph of the inner-German border near Hirschberg an der Saale (Saxony-Anhalt) shows an Autobahn bridge that had been destroyed back in 1945. The image is acutely symbolic of Germany's postwar division. Photographer unknown.