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A stream so low you hardly got your feet wet divided a village for more than four decades worth of time. By an accident of geography, the half a hundred inhabitants of Mödlareuth, a hamlet encircled by evergreen groves, pastures and spectacular scenery, found themselves at the heart of the Cold War conflict. They had the misfortune to straddle the Bavarian region, in the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Thuringian region in the East, a border that was demarcated first by a barrier and then by a wall. American soldiers called it Mini Berlin.

Commemorating the Past

Several months after their own barrier was torn down, and before their nation had reunified in 1990, a assembly of villagers set about documenting their heritage. The project is soon to be completed: on 9 November, the 36th annual remembrance of the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the Museum of German Division Mödlareuth will open. It was publicly launched by the national president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in the beginning of October, but the display wasn’t quite prepared. Addressing the villagers who endured the old days, Steinmeier stated: “You were bystanders of an inhuman split, which ripped relatives asunder and turned neighbours into aliens.”

“You were bystanders of an inhuman division, which pulled families asunder and turned neighbours into foreigners.”

Past Origins

Even at its founding in 1810, the village cut across the Bavarian Kingdom and the Principality of Reuss, a princely house most famous for giving all its male members the title Heinrich and numbering them sequentially by birth. As Steinmeier related to the gathering, the oddity did not stand in the way of the inhabitants drinking in the very same inn, going to the same church and enrolling their young ones to the identical learning center.

Following WWII Separation

Next arrived the second world war. Immediately after they arrived, the Russian troops put up wood stakes by the stream. For a year they occupied the complete hamlet, establishing their control center in a house on the Bavarian territory side, embellishing it with a portrait of Stalin and a red star. The Americans persuaded them to withdraw back over the stream. For a time, villagers could still hop over, though as limitations tightened they were required to present ID, even though everyone understood who they were, and to come back at night.

Increase of Border Controls

Then, in 1952, came metal barriers and the formal shutting of the frontier. In 1966, as in Berlin previously in 1961, a barrier was erected, with mines, tank traps and watchtowers. The locals could still see each other by climbing elevations, but on the Soviet side waving and calling out were prohibited. A female resident was added to a East German secret police surveillance list for answering “back at you” to a West German resident who wished her “happy new year”.

Museum Establishment

I heard accounts including these tales by Robert Lebegern, the head of the institution, who has devoted much of his working life creating it. Locals were consulted early on about how much barrier they wished to maintain. They chose a stretch on the west edge, near where one of their own succeeded to escape in the darkest hours with a scaling tool, after which the boundary was substantially strengthened.

Maintained Buildings

Two observation towers are preserved alongside a series of displays depicting the most significant dates in the hamlet’s history. As we walk, Robert Lebegern details the restrictions: no one could get closer than 5km of the frontier. Farmers required specific authorization to tend to their produce; the partner could operate the agricultural equipment but under no circumstances the pair, for fear that they attempted to flee. Military personnel kept guard.

Broader Background

The boundary between West Germany and the GDR extended 1,400 kilometers, from the Baltic coast in the northern part to this location in the south. Berlin is commemorated and honored the most, but in excess of double the number individuals (more than 300) died trying to pass over it in rural areas than in the big city. the director reminds me that 95% of attempts to flee did not succeed.

Hamlet Life

The greater part of Mödlareuth’s villagers were agricultural workers or artisans, who adapted to living in the ambiguous area between a pair of ideological spheres by staying low-profile and looking after their land. They nor did they supported the East German authorities nor resisted it, Robert Lebegern clarifies.

Visitors

For tourists, however, the settlement became a kind of pilgrimage. Approximately 15k came to visit annually, viewing tools in possession, to look – and then swiftly depart. In 1983, the United States leader, George Bush, was shown around by the German defense official.

Twenty five years after reunification, the television series, a broadcast production about a fictional village similar to Mödlareuth, resulted in new curiosity.

Present-Day Developments

The launch of the modern exhibition center – with a cafe, shop, cinema room and large car park – is likely to