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An brook so low you scarcely got your ankles wet separated a village for more than four decades worth of time. By an accident of geography, the fifty locals of Mödlareuth, a tiny settlement encircled by coniferous woods, pastures and stunning scenery, found themselves at the core of the Cold War conflict. They had the bad luck to span the Bavarian region, in the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Thuringian region in the East, a frontier that was established first by a fence and then by a barricade. American soldiers dubbed it Little Berlin.

Commemorating History

A few months after their own division was torn down, and prior to their country had reunified in 1990, a collection of local people set about commemorating their past. The work is about to come to fruition: on 9 November, the thirty-sixth anniversary of the fall of the Wall in Berlin, the German-German Museum Mödlareuth will begin operations. It was formally launched by the head of state, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in the first part of October, but the show was not completely prepared. Telling the residents who experienced the past era, Steinmeier remarked: “You were bystanders of an cruel split, which ripped relatives into pieces and turned neighbours into strangers.”

“You were observers of an brutal split, which ripped relatives apart and turned local residents into foreigners.”

Past Origins

Starting at its creation in 1810, the community spanned the Royal Bavaria and the Principality of Reuss, a noble lineage best known for bestowing all its men the name Heinrich and numbering them in order by date of birth. As Steinmeier told the crowd, the oddity never stood in the path of the inhabitants gathering in the very same tavern, attending the identical place of worship and enrolling their children to the very same school.

Following WWII Separation

Next arrived the second world war. The moment they came, the Soviet forces installed timber poles by the stream. For a year they took over the complete community, setting up their headquarters in a house on the Bavarian side, adorning it with a image of Stalin and a red star. The US forces convinced them to withdraw back over the creek. For a time, residents could still hop over, though as controls tightened they were obliged to present ID, despite the fact that each person understood who they were, and to return at night.

Increase of Frontier Measures

Then, in 1952, came metal barriers and the official closing of the boundary. In 1966, as in Berlin five years earlier, a wall was built, with landmines, anti-tank obstacles and observation points. The residents could continue to observe each other by ascending slopes, but on the eastern side signaling and shouting were banned. A local woman was added to a East German secret police monitoring list for answering “back at you” to a West German resident who greeted her “prosperous new year”.

Exhibition Center Development

It was related to me stories like these by Robert Lebegern, the director of the museum, who has dedicated a significant portion of his occupational time developing it. Villagers were polled in the initial phases about how what length of structure they wanted to preserve. They selected a stretch on the west edge, close to where one of their own managed to escape in the darkest hours with a climbing device, subsequently the frontier was significantly strengthened.

Maintained Installations

A pair of watchtowers are maintained together with a set of tableaux illustrating the most significant moments in the village’s history. As we stroll, Robert Lebegern details the rules: no one could approach 5km of the boundary. Farmers had to obtain particular approval to care for their fields; the spouse could work the agricultural equipment but never the two, lest they sought to make a run for it. Military personnel were on duty.

Larger Context

The frontier between the Federal Republic and the GDR ran nearly 900 miles, from the northern sea in the north to this location in the south. Berlin is recalled and memorialised the most frequently, but over two times more individuals (more than 300) died seeking to pass over it in provincial zones than in the urban center. Robert Lebegern informs me that 95 percent of attempts to flee were unsuccessful.

Hamlet Existence

The greater part of Mödlareuth’s villagers were agricultural workers or craftsmen, who accommodated to residing in the grey zone between 2 belief systems by avoiding attention and looking after their land. They neither supported the socialist government nor opposed it, the director explains.

Visitors

For sightseers, however, the settlement became a type of destination. Approximately 15k came to visit annually, optical devices in possession, to gawp – and then quickly leave. In 1983, the US president, George Bush, was guided by the German defense official.

Twenty five years after merger, the TV show, a TV series about a made-up community resembling Mödlareuth, caused fresh attention.

Modern Changes

The launch of the modern exhibition center – with a cafe, boutique, film screening area and big car park – is probable to