I lived inside the Berlin Wall from ‘82-’85, and witnessed some escape attempts (and one successful one).
Most died trying.
The outer ring was in many places a well marked fence.
Next inside was a dog run, followed by a minefield, with guard towers. The guard towers also remotely operated machine guns that faced along the wall itself.
The wall was 14’ tall, with a 3’ diameter cylinder than ran along the top of it.
The mines were quite sensitive - as many rabbits found out...
It’s been said that if you want to determine how free a country is, look at which way the guns are pointed at the border.
I saw the wall up close and personal back in ‘81. Came into Berlin on the northern access route (From Schleswig-Holstein) That route was 2 lane blacktop almost the whole way. A lot different than the other access corridors. You got to see quite clearly the complexity of the border mechanism. Everything you say is true. And on this route you got to see how average East Germans lived. Most of them lived quite poorly. Unless of course you were a party apparatchik. You were timed on this route and if you got to the far end too quickly you were given a speeding ticket. Too slowly and you could be detained and interrogated. I’m glad that abomination is gone.
CC