2. The Death wire: what was it?
• a 450 km long
electric obstacle
• a German weapon,
constructed in 1915
• on Belgian
territory, near the
border with the
Netherlands, all over, from west to east
5. The Death wire: how is it constructed?
• pine poles with
porcelain insulators
• 5 to 6 wires of 5 mm,
with 20 to 30 cm of
distance in between
• at 50 m high, 2 wires
for the electricity
supply
6.
7. The Death wire: why?
• to prevent people from crossing the border:
o volunteers for the Belgian army, via England
o spies
o clandestine post deliverers
o smugglers
o refugees
o resistance fighters
• less German soldiers needed to
guard the Belgian-Dutch border
8. The Death wire: consequences
• for the Dutch state: guarding the frontier is
not necessary anymore
• for the borderers: visiting each
other is strictly controlled and
registrated
• for the farmers: making kilometers of
detours for going to their fields (at 100 m)
on the other side of the obstacle
9. The Death wire: consequences
despite of the warning sign: deadly victims
o how many?
in total: 850 (?) people
in our province Limburg: 300 (?)
o how?
electrified
shot by German or Dutch guards
o which nationalities?
Belgian (50%), German (25%),
Dutch (10%), French (4%), Russian (10%)
10. The Death wire: consequences
Details about some victims
• youngest victim
o = Peter, 4 years old
o while playing
o killed by a 2000 Volt shock
• most dreadful incident
o gunbattle between German guards and Belgian refugees
o 3 Belgian refugees and 1 German guard were shot
11. The Death wire: how is it surveilled?
• at night, number of guards is doubled
• during the day, surveillance balloons
12. The Death wire: how is it surveilled?
• every 1,5 to 2,5 km:
‘switch houses’ with
technical equipment
• every 50 to 150 m:
patrolling guards
13. Detail of a German map about the electric wire
in the province of Limburg in 1916
Saint-Benedictus Abbey in
Achel divided in 2 by the
Death wire: a Dutch (left)
and a Belgian part
Belgian-Dutch border and
Death wire in our province
of Limburg
Kaulille (Caulille)
= near BREE where our school is situated
= where the gunpowder factory was with electricity
supply for the Death wire
14. The Death wire: legally passing how?
• via 75 legal corridors,
near important roads
and railways
o 50 for soldiers
o 9 for citizens
o 16 for soldiers and citizens
• with an official licence to pass
15. The Death wire: illegally passing how?
• giving money to the German guards for
switching off the electricity
• passing via a drain or a small canal under
the ground
• using sticks covered with
rubber inner tubes of bicycle
wheels for extending the
distance between the wires
16. The Death wire: illegally passing how?
• using all sorts of materials:
o a jumping-pole
o a barrel without
a bottom and an upper side
o woolen blankets, wrapped
around the wires
17. The Death wire: illegally passing how?
• using all sorts of materials:
o a rubber doormat of
1,5 m, shoved under
the wire
o a wooden ‘windowframe’,
with isolated upper
and lower side
18. The Death wire: demolished when?
• the Death wire = considered as battle catch
by the Belgian government at Armistice
• some farmers used it for
refencing their grass-lands
• tragic death:
on Nov 12 in 1918 - a farmer tried to pass
via the wire - the Germans hadn’t switched
off the electricity yet
19. The Death wire: reconstruction
in Kinrooi at 10 km from Bree: 50 m
reconstructed electric wire with a fence ...
20. The Death wire: reconstruction
a switch house and a guardhouse
