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An stream so shallow you hardly got your feet wet separated a community for in excess of four decades. Due to a quirk of geography, the fifty inhabitants of Mödlareuth, a small village encircled by pine forests, pastures and stunning views, found themselves at the heart of the Cold War conflict. They had the unfortunate circumstance to straddle the Bavarian region, in the Federal Republic of Germany, and Thuringia in the East, a boundary that was demarcated first by a fence and then by a barricade. US troops called it Mini Berlin.

Preserving the Past

A few months after their own division was torn down, and before their state had become one in 1990, a collection of residents set about documenting their history. The project is close to reach completion: on 9 November, the 36th remembrance of the demolition of the German barrier, the Museum of German Division Mödlareuth will open. It was officially opened by the national president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in the beginning of October, but the show was not entirely finished. Speaking to the locals who experienced the old days, Steinmeier stated: “You were observers of an brutal separation, which ripped households into pieces and turned neighbours into strangers.”

“You were observers of an brutal division, which tore households into pieces and turned neighbors into strangers.”

Past Origins

Starting at its creation in 1810, the village cut across the Bavarian Kingdom and the Principality of Reuss, a princely house best known for assigning all its men the title Heinrich and counting them consecutively by birth. As Steinmeier related to the gathering, the peculiarity did not stand in the way of the residents gathering in the very same inn, going to the very same church and sending their children to the same learning center.

After the War Split

Next arrived the global conflict. The moment they came, the Russians erected timber poles by the brook. For a twelve months they occupied the whole village, establishing their headquarters in a house on the Bavarian territory side, adorning it with a image of Stalin and a red star. The Americans convinced them to withdraw across the brook. For a while, locals could continue to jump across, though as restrictions became stricter they were obliged to display identity papers, despite the fact that each person knew who they were, and to return at night.

Intensification of Boundary Measures

After that, in 1952, came wire fencing and the official closing of the frontier. In 1966, as in Berlin previously in 1961, a wall was built, with explosives, vehicle barriers and watchtowers. The villagers could continue to view each other by scaling elevations, but on the east side signaling and calling out were forbidden. A female resident was placed on a GDR intelligence surveillance list for answering “likewise” to a western resident who said her “good new year”.

Exhibition Center Development

I heard stories such as these tales by Robert Lebegern, the director of the museum, who has spent a significant portion of his occupational time creating it. Locals were asked early on about how how long a section wall they wished to maintain. They opted for a stretch on the Bavarian fringe, close to where a villager succeeded to escape in the dead of night with a climbing device, subsequently the boundary was significantly reinforced.

Preserved Buildings

Two watchtowers are maintained alongside a series of displays depicting the most significant events in the community’s chronicle. As we walk, the director details the rules: not a single person could approach 5km of the border. Farmers required specific authorization to care for their crops; the partner could work the combine harvester but under no circumstances the two, in case they sought to make a run for it. Armed guards stood watch.

Larger Context

The border between the Federal Republic and the German Democratic Republic stretched 1,400 kilometers, from the northern sea in the north to this location in the south. Berlin is recalled and honored the greatest, but more than two times more people (well over 300) were killed attempting to cross it in rural areas than in the big city. the director reminds me that 95% of attempts to flee were unsuccessful.

Village Existence

The majority of Mödlareuth’s residents were rural laborers or artisans, who adapted to dwelling in the grey zone between 2 political systems by staying low-profile and looking after their land. They did not endorsed the East German authorities nor fought it, Lebegern states.

Interest

For sightseers, however, the village became a type of site of interest. Approximately 15,000 came to see every year, binoculars in hand, to stare – and then rapidly leave. In 1983, the United States leader, George Bush, was shown around by the German defence minister.

Twenty five years after unification, the TV show, a TV series about a made-up community like Mödlareuth, resulted in renewed interest.

Current Changes

The opening of the new museum – with a cafe, store, movie theater and large parking lot – is likely to