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A stream so low you scarcely got your ankles wet split a settlement for over four decades of time. By an accident of topography, the fifty residents of Mödlareuth, a small village encircled by pine forests, fields and spectacular views, found themselves at the core of the cold war. They had the unfortunate circumstance to span the Bavarian region, in the Federal Republic of Germany, and Thuringia in the Eastern part, a border that was established first by a fence and then by a wall. United States military personnel nicknamed it Mini Berlin.

Preserving History

Months after their own wall was opened, and prior to their nation had unified again in 1990, a group of villagers began memorialising their past. The work is soon to reach completion: on 9 November, the 36th anniversary of the collapse of the German barrier, the German-German Museum Mödlareuth will inaugurate. It was officially launched by the head of state, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in the first part of October, but the exhibition was not completely prepared. Speaking to the locals who endured the former times, Steinmeier stated: “You were observers of an cruel separation, which tore families apart and turned neighbors into aliens.”

“You were bystanders of an brutal division, which tore families apart and turned neighbors into strangers.”

Historical Origins

Right from its establishment in 1810, the community spanned the Royal Bavaria and the Princely State of Reuss, a royal family most famous for giving all its male members the designation Heinrich and numbering them consecutively by date of birth. As Steinmeier told the audience, the oddity never stood in the way of the residents socializing in the identical pub, visiting the very same religious building and placing their young ones to the very same educational institution.

Following WWII Separation

Then came the second world war. The moment they came, the Soviet forces installed wooden posts by the brook. For a twelve months they took over the complete village, setting up their headquarters in a house on the western side, adorning it with a portrait of Stalin and a communist symbol. The US forces persuaded them to retreat back over the brook. For a period, villagers could still jump across, though as controls became stricter they were required to show identity papers, even though all was aware who they were, and to return at night.

Escalation of Boundary Controls

Subsequently, in 1952, came barbed wire and the legal shutting of the boundary. In 1966, as in Berlin previously in 1961, a barrier was erected, with landmines, tank traps and guard posts. The locals could still see each other by ascending slopes, but on the eastern side signaling and shouting were banned. A female resident was put on a Stasi watch list for replying “back at you” to a West German local who wished her “good new year”.

Museum Development

It was related to me accounts such as these tales by Robert Lebegern, the head of the institution, who has dedicated a large part of his professional career building it. Villagers were asked at an early stage about how much wall they desired to keep. They selected a section on the western fringe, near where a villager succeeded to flee in the darkest hours with a ladder, after which the border was heavily reinforced.

Maintained Structures

2 watchtowers are maintained alongside a series of exhibits depicting the most impactful moments in the village’s chronicle. As we stroll, Robert Lebegern enumerates the regulations: not a single person could get closer than 5km of the border. Farmers had to obtain particular approval to care for their crops; the spouse could operate the agricultural equipment but under no circumstances the two, for fear that they tried to escape. Armed guards were on duty.

Wider Background

The boundary between Western Germany and the East Germany ran nearly 900 miles, from the Baltic coast in the north to this location in the south. Berlin is recalled and memorialised the most, but over double the number people (more than 300) were killed attempting to pass over it in countryside regions than in the big city. the director informs me that almost all of escape attempts were unsuccessful.

Village Life

Most of Mödlareuth’s residents were farmers or artisans, who adjusted to living in the grey zone between a pair of political systems by avoiding attention and looking after their land. They did not backed the East German authorities nor resisted it, Lebegern states.

Tourism

For tourists, however, the hamlet became a type of destination. Approximately 15k visited annually, viewing tools in possession, to gawp – and then swiftly leave. In 1983, the US president, George Bush, was guided by the German defense official.

25 years after reunification, the TV show, a broadcast production about a imaginary community resembling Mödlareuth, resulted in renewed curiosity.

Modern Developments

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