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An brook so narrow you barely got your feet wet separated a community for in excess of four decades worth of time. Due to a quirk of geography, the 50 inhabitants of Mödlareuth, a tiny settlement surrounded by pine forests, pastures and breathtaking views, found themselves at the center of the cold war. They had the unfortunate circumstance to span Bavaria, in West Germany, and the Thuringian region in the Soviet sector, a border that was established first by a fence and then by a partition. American soldiers dubbed it Mini Berlin.

Memorialising the Past

A few months after their own wall was torn down, and before their country had unified again in 1990, a collection of villagers set about documenting their heritage. The project is about to be completed: on 9 November, the 36th annual remembrance of the fall of the German barrier, the German-German Museum Mödlareuth will begin operations. It was publicly opened by the head of state, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in the beginning of October, but the show was not entirely prepared. Speaking to the residents who experienced the old days, Steinmeier said: “You were observers of an cruel split, which ripped families into pieces and turned local residents into strangers.”

“You were witnesses of an cruel separation, which pulled relatives into pieces and turned neighbours into foreigners.”

Historical Context

Starting at its creation in 1810, the hamlet spanned the Bavarian Kingdom and the Princely State of Reuss, a princely house most renowned for giving all its male members the name Heinrich and counting them sequentially by birth. As Steinmeier told the gathering, the quirk did not stand in the path of the residents gathering in the same inn, visiting the very same place of worship and enrolling their kids to the very same educational institution.

Following WWII Split

Subsequently occurred the global conflict. As soon as they appeared, the Soviet forces put up wood stakes by the creek. For a year they occupied the whole community, creating their command in a dwelling on the Bavarian territory side, adorning it with a image of Stalin and a communist symbol. The US forces convinced them to retreat across the creek. For a time, locals could continue to jump across, though as controls increased they were forced to display ID, even though each person was aware who they were, and to come back at after dark.

Escalation of Boundary Controls

After that, in 1952, came metal barriers and the legal shutting of the frontier. In 1966, as in Berlin five years earlier, a barrier was built, with explosives, vehicle barriers and watchtowers. The residents could continue to view each other by ascending slopes, but on the Soviet side signaling and calling out were forbidden. One woman was placed on a East German secret police monitoring list for replying “likewise” to a Bavarian villager who wished her “good new year”.

Exhibition Center Creation

It was related to me accounts like these by Robert Lebegern, the director of the museum, who has dedicated a large part of his working life developing it. Locals were consulted in the initial phases about how what length of barrier they desired to maintain. They opted for a stretch on the western perimeter, near where a villager managed to flee in the middle of the night with a scaling tool, following which the border was substantially strengthened.

Maintained Structures

2 observation towers are conserved together with a set of displays depicting the most dramatic dates in the community’s chronicle. As we move, the director lists the restrictions: no one could approach 5km of the frontier. Agricultural workers had to obtain particular approval to care for their produce; the partner could operate the agricultural equipment but not both, in case they attempted to make a run for it. Soldiers were on duty.

Wider Perspective

The border between West Germany and the East Germany stretched 1,400km, from the Baltic Sea in the northern part to the south in the southern region. Berlin is recalled and documented the greatest, but over two times more persons (more than 300) died trying to cross it in rural areas than in the big city. Lebegern reminds me that almost all of efforts to cross failed.

Community Existence

The majority of Mödlareuth’s locals were farmers or craftsmen, who adjusted to living in the grey zone between a pair of ideological spheres by staying low-profile and caring for their land. They did not backed the East German authorities nor resisted it, the director states.

Tourism

For visitors, however, the settlement became a sort of pilgrimage. About fifteen thousand came to visit annually, viewing tools in their hands, to gawp – and then quickly leave. In 1983, the US president, George Bush, was guided by the German defense official.

Twenty five years after unification, the television series, a broadcast production about a made-up community similar to Mödlareuth, caused renewed interest.

Modern Changes

The launch of the modern exhibition center – with a restaurant, store, cinema room and sizable car park – is probable to