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A creek so low you scarcely got your feet wet split a community for over four decades worth of time. Due to a quirk of topography, the 50 locals of Mödlareuth, a tiny settlement bordered by coniferous woods, fields and stunning scenery, found themselves at the core of the Cold War conflict. They had the unfortunate circumstance to cross Bavaria, in the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Thuringian region in the Eastern part, a frontier that was demarcated first by a enclosure and then by a wall. United States military personnel called it Little Berlin.

Memorialising the Past

Months after their own barrier was torn down, and prior to their nation had become one in 1990, a group of villagers started commemorating their heritage. The effort is soon to reach completion: on 9 November, the 36th annual commemoration of the collapse of the Wall in Berlin, the German-German Museum Mödlareuth will begin operations. It was officially opened by the federal president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in early October, but the display was not completely finished. Addressing the residents who lived through the old days, Steinmeier stated: “You were witnesses of an cruel separation, which tore relatives apart and turned local residents into foreigners.”

“You were witnesses of an inhuman split, which pulled relatives apart and turned neighbors into foreigners.”

Past Origins

Even at its establishment in 1810, the community spanned the Kingdom of Bavaria and the Reuss Principality, a noble lineage most famous for bestowing all its male members the name Heinrich and counting them in order by birth order. As Steinmeier told the audience, the oddity did not stand in the way of the locals drinking in the very same inn, going to the identical church and enrolling their kids to the identical learning center.

After the War Split

Subsequently occurred the World War II. The moment they arrived, the Soviet forces installed wood stakes by the stream. For a annual period they occupied the complete community, establishing their command in a house on the Bavarian territory side, adorning it with a portrait of Stalin and a red star. The American soldiers convinced them to withdraw across the stream. For a time, locals could still hop over, though as restrictions became stricter they were forced to display ID, despite the fact that everyone understood who they were, and to go back at night.

Intensification of Frontier Measures

Subsequently, in 1952, came wire fencing and the official shutting of the border. In 1966, as in Berlin half a decade before, a concrete structure was built, with landmines, tank traps and guard posts. The residents could still view each other by ascending elevations, but on the Soviet side signaling and shouting were forbidden. A female resident was added to a GDR intelligence watch list for answering “same to you” to a West German resident who wished her “good new year”.

Museum Establishment

It was related to me stories including these incidents by Robert Lebegern, the head of the institution, who has dedicated much of his occupational time creating it. Locals were consulted early on about how how long a section structure they desired to preserve. They chose a stretch on the western fringe, adjacent to where one of their own managed to get away in the middle of the night with a ladder, after which the border was heavily strengthened.

Preserved Structures

2 observation towers are maintained in addition to a series of displays showing the most significant moments in the community’s history. As we stroll, the director enumerates the rules: not a single person could approach 5km of the frontier. Rural residents needed specific authorization to look after their crops; the spouse could use the agricultural equipment but under no circumstances the pair, lest they attempted to make a run for it. Soldiers stood watch.

Larger Context

The boundary between Western Germany and the GDR ran 1,400 kilometers, from the Baltic coast in the north to here in the southern region. Berlin is remembered and memorialised the greatest, but over two times more persons (exceeding 300) were killed trying to cross it in provincial zones than in the big city. Robert Lebegern reminds me that almost all of attempts to flee were unsuccessful.

Community Daily Living

The greater part of Mödlareuth’s villagers were agricultural workers or skilled workers, who accommodated to residing in the uncertain territory between two political systems by avoiding attention and caring for their farms. They nor did they backed the East German authorities nor fought it, Robert Lebegern states.

Interest

For visitors, however, the village became a sort of destination. Approximately 15,000 visited each year, binoculars in their hands, to stare – and then quickly leave. In 1983, the United States leader, George Bush, was shown around by the national security head.

Twenty five years after unification, the TV show, a broadcast production about a fictional hamlet resembling Mödlareuth, led to new attention.

Modern Developments

The opening of the modern exhibition center – with a restaurant, boutique, cinema room and large parking lot – is probable to