The Dutch–German Border: Open in Times of Coronavirus Lockdowns

This essay portrays policies, practices and perceptions at the Dutch– German border during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Before that this border was considered one of the most open borders in the world. The first part of the essay deals with the waves of policies and other initiatives aimed at limiting cross-border traffic that have been introduced since March 2020 trying to curb the pandemic. The second part illustrates to what extent these policies might have had an effect on citizens’ cross-border practices and perception of the border