economic prospects. The East German government sought to define the country as a legitimate state in its own right and portrayed West Germany as enemy territory (feindliches Ausland) – a capitalist, semi-fascist state that exploited its citizens, sought to regain the lost territories of the Third Reich, and stood opposed to the peaceful socialism of the GDR. 1945–52: the "Green Border" In the early days of the occupation, the Allies controlled traffic between the zones to manage the flow of refugees and prevent the escape of former Nazi officials and intelligence officers. These controls were gradually lifted in the Western zones, but were tightened between Western and Soviet zones in 1946 to stem a flow of economic and political refugees from the Soviet zone. Between October 1945 and June 1946, 1.6 million Germans left the Soviet zone for the west. The east–west interzonal border became steadily more tense as the relationship between the Western Allies and the Soviets deteriorated. From September 1947, an increasingly strict regime was imposed on the eastern Soviet zone boundary. The number of Soviet soldiers on the boundary was increased and supplemented with border guards from the newly established East German Volkspolizei ("People's Police"). Many unofficial crossing points were blocked with ditches and barricades. The West Germans also stepped up security with the establishment in 1952 of the Federal Border Protection force of 20,000 men; – the Bundesgrenzschutz, or BGS – however, Allied troops (the British in the north, the Americans in the south) retained responsibility for the military security of the border. The boundary line was nonetheless still fairly easy to cross. Local inhabitants were able to maintain fields on the other side, or even to live on one side and work on the other. Refugees were able to sneak across or bribe the guards, and the smuggling of goods in both directions was rife. The flow of emigrants remained large despite the increase in East German security measures: 675,000 people fled to West Germany between 1949 and 1952. 1952–67: the "Special Regime" The relative openness of the border ended abruptly on 26 May 1952 when the GDR implemented a "special regime on the demarcation line", justified as a measure to keep out "spies, diversionists, terrorists and smugglers". The East German move was taken to limit the continuing exodus of its citizens, which threatened the viability of the GDR's economy. A ploughed strip 10 m