A forbidding, 1,400-kilometer network of fences and guard towers once ran the length of Germany, separating East and West. Now, one of the world’s most unique nature reserves has emerged along the old “Death Strip,” turning a monument to repression into a symbol of renewal.
Last year, Chancellor Merkel transferred all areas owned by the federal government to the states, which are in charge of conservation in Germany. “What separated us in the past now unites us as a Green Belt,” Merkel said. Today, politicians from all parties celebrate the Green Belt as a major conservation success.
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