[1][2] Erich Lutter, an SS leader who headed Department II D 4 (weapons) in the Reich Security Main Office, developed the concept in 1942 for automatic shooting systems on the fences of concentration camps and ghettos known as Scharfschützenmine (Sniper mine).

In 1966, the first devices under East Germany were developed with the help of the military technical institute "VUSTE" in Czechoslovakia between Salzwedel and Arendsee, where the automatic firing systems was tested on pigs that were driven into the relevant areas.

The cryptic description led to the public perception that the mine was a type of automated sentry gun (rather than a simple static trip-mine), a misconception shared even with Western intelligence agencies.

In fact, no such technology existed during the lifespan of East Germany, and the mine was actually more similar in capability to an oversized spring gun, but the rumors provided an additional psychological deterrent to would-be border crossers.

This proved only somewhat effective, as the mines still regularly suffered unintentional detonations due to heavy winds, deer and other animals, snow and ice accumulation, falling tree branches, bramble overgrowth, and rock-throwing West Germans.

Honecker's plan eventually fell through due to lack of funding, but the SM-70 continued to be removed as per the agreement, being replaced with extra buried PMN mines, which remained in place until the fall of East Germany in 1990.